Proctoring by the people, for the people: OctoProctor’s social impact

Our social-impact blueprint delivers identity-verified, accessible exams with audit trails, zero-harassment rules, and privacy by design, built to sustainably run on low bandwidth and any device.

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TL;DR

We keep a clear accommodations workflow, use standardized, identity-verified assessments with documented flags, and enforce zero tolerance for harassment with an escalation path. Privacy and transparency are built in: no sale of personal data, explicit retention schedules, audit logs, integrity reports, and plain-language decisions; we comply with GDPR, FADP, LGPD, PIPEDA, and relevant U.S. state laws. Access holds anywhere with low-bandwidth, no-download, device-agnostic delivery and an Earth-first approach to hosting.

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Introduction

OctoProctor is a mission-first company, rooted in accessibility, security, and fairness for everyone. 

We recognize that there are many institution-wide problems in modern institutions. While some issues like favoritism, skill inflation, bribery, and collusion affect all employees regardless of seniority, most inequalities disproportionally hurt historically marginalized groups. Our stance is simple: eco-conscious, cruelty-free working and learning conditions, whether face-to-face, hybrid, or remote.

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Our seven core commitments

1. Security and privacy are non-negotiable. Identity fraud can outpace skill inflation as a compliance risk. By verifying the person and the skill, organizations protect candidates, customers, and themselves. We design for privacy by default and comply with GDPR, FADP, Australia's Privacy Act 1988, New Zealand's Privacy Act 2020, LGPD, PIPEDA, and US state privacy laws, including CCPA/CPRA, VCDPA, and the Colorado CPA, among other applicable regulations. We do not sell personal data. Session data is retained only as long as necessary for assessment integrity, appeals, and legal obligations, then deleted according to documented schedules.

2. Equality, diversity, and inclusivity are not only about including different layers of society; they are also about embracing the unique perspectives and experiences of individuals. It is also about ensuring that physically, psychologically, or neurologically vulnerable individuals receive reasonable accommodation to perform at their best. Uneven accommodation processes create legal risk and block qualified talent. Proctoring offers centralized workflows for extra time, assistive tech, breaks, and human review to reduce false flags and enhance document compliance. You can read more about our EDI commitments in our dedicated article.
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3. ‍Breaking glass ceilings. Gatekeeping remains widespread. It often overlaps with misogyny, racism, ableism, ageism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination, blended differently by each country’s context. Subjective interviews and unproctored tests invite coaching, impersonation, and “who-you-know” bias. Standardized, identity-verified, proctored assessments move decisions toward merit by creating an audit trail and reducing the likelihood of proxy testing.

​​Our team includes a prevailing percentage of women. Many of us have experienced or witnessed harassment in previous workplaces or tertiary education. Harassment—including sexual coercion or assault—can be a tool of gatekeeping (“do x or you won’t pass y”). Remote, recorded sessions with clear conduct policies reduce contact risk and enable documented escalation and review when misconduct occurs.

4. ‍Dialogue over dogma. We work across education levels and industries, and we recognize plenty of miscommunication surrounding proctoring, fueled by our sector, among others. While technology is an enabler, it would be useless without a productive dialogue and understanding. That’s why we conduct social listening and work on bridging the gaps, one at a time. Instead of solely chasing gain, we develop humane proctoring solutions based on ethics and actual research. Our R&D efforts mimic a dialogue between technology and the humanities, studying stress and scoring through different angles. We are committed to educating our clients and their test takers on proctoring, assessment, and stress management for optimal performance.
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5. Progress means revisiting the past. Naming a problem is the first step to solving it. Alongside new features, we advocate a review of legacy, colonial approaches to assessment that have long produced unequal outcomes. We attend conferences, track the latest research, and engage in discussions with both innovators and traditionalists to identify areas for organic and durable improvement.

6. Access matters. Our product works from 256 kbps, requires no downloads, and is device-agnostic. People in underserved regions and communities can complete assessments without avoidable technical hurdles—or disheartening speculation about their integrity.
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7. Eco-consciousis a staple for us. We have always considered the amount of paper humanity wastes on exams, the ink and plastic graveyards around institutions, and the new tech eating up precious water. There is no Planet B, and we are not planning to flee to Mars, meaning we are committed to ensuring that future generations get to experience the abundant Earth. Proctoring decreases travel to the testing center, paper, ink, and plastic waste by making assessments digital. Our choice to be hosted on AWS also ensures advanced energy and water use efficiency compared to on-prem data centers.

OctoProctor is more than a tool – it is a partner, an ally, and a friend.