AI Overlay for Safe Exam Browser (SEB) on Mac
Safe Exam Browser (SEB) is the open-source lockdown app maintained by ETH Zurich and used across European, Australian, and New Zealand universities. Unlike browser-extension proctoring, SEB ships as a native macOS application that locks the host into kiosk mode for the entire exam session.
SEB is a monolithic Cocoa app built on WKWebView, not a browser extension. ETH Zurich first shipped the macOS port in 2010 and continues to fund it as part of the OLAT/OpenOlat ecosystem. The app is signed and notarized by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and runs entirely in user space. To enforce its sandbox it disables the Dock, Cmd-Tab, Force-Quit, Mission Control, Notification Center, screenshot hotkeys, screen recording, printing, and a long list of third-party comms apps.
Key points
- SEB for macOS is open source under the MPL 2.0 license; ETH Zurich publishes the full source on GitHub.
- SEB uses WKWebView, which does not implement getDisplayMedia, so SEB itself cannot stream the screen.
- allowScreenCapture and allowWindowCapture are SEB config keys, not OS-level enforcement.
- SEB does not enumerate other apps as cheating signals.
- Common SEB deployments: ETH Zurich, University of Zurich, TU Munich, Australian National University.
How it works
┌── macOS host ─────────────────────────────────┐ │ ┌── proctor desktop app ───────┐ │ │ │ Calls ScreenCaptureKit / │ ← misses │ │ │ CGWindowListCreateImage │ flagged │ │ └──────────────────────────────┘ windows │ │ │ │ ┌── LDBypass overlay window ───┐ │ │ │ sharingType = .none │ ← invisible │ │ └──────────────────────────────┘ to capture│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Compatibility on Mac
| macOS 14 Sonoma+ | Yes (required for window-privacy API) | ✓ |
| Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) | Native arm64 build | ✓ |
| Intel Macs (2019+) | Universal binary supported | ✓ |
| Safe Exam Browser 3.x | macOS 11+ supported, kiosk mode active | ✓ |
| SEB + Moodle / Inspera / Olat | Same capture path regardless of LMS | ✓ |
Common questions
Will SEB kiosk mode block LDBypass from launching?
SEB blocks app switching once it is running, so launch LDBypass before SEB and toggle visibility with Ctrl-Cmd-L.
Does SEB read the process list?
SEB does check for known prohibited apps such as remote-desktop tools by bundle identifier.
Can SEB detect that allowWindowCapture has been bypassed?
No. allowWindowCapture is a hint SEB sets on its own windows; it cannot inspect other apps window-privacy flags.
Is using an AI overlay during a SEB exam against policy?
Yes at most universities. SEB academic-honesty policies are set by the institution.