McKinsey does not describe Solve as proctored, and no source we hold says whether a camera is used or what the software records. It does state strict rules (alone, no outside tools, no recording), consequences for breaking them and a random follow-up check. Set up as if you were observed, and let your invitation settle the camera question.
| Point | Answer | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Banned aids, recording and screenshots | Applications, websites, AI tools and prepared notes are banned, as is recording or capturing any part of Solve, unless McKinsey approved an accommodation in writing. | Official |
| Working alone | You take Solve alone, without help from anyone else. | Official |
| Camera, one screen, pen and paper only | McKinsey sets these rules for any assessment or interview. The page is general and does not name Solve. | Official |
| A webcam during Solve itself | Neither the Solve page nor the Solve FAQ says whether a camera is used. Your invitation governs. | Not published |
| What Solve records or detects | No source says whether it logs clicks, spots a second tab or watches a camera. | Not published |
| A check afterwards | You may be asked, at random, for an extra task in person or to explain your logic. | Official |
Is McKinsey Solve proctored?
McKinsey does not call Solve proctored and does not say how it supervises a sitting; what it publishes is a set of rules, a list of penalties and a possible follow-up check, so "proctored" is neither confirmed nor ruled out. The honest reading is that integrity is enforced through rules you accept and checks that can come later, with the technical detail unknown. Treat the sitting as one where the rules matter, whatever the software does.
Official
- A list of banned aids and a ban on recording or screenshots.
- A rule that you take Solve alone.
- Consequences if you break the rules.
- A random follow-up task or request to explain your logic.
- Camera, one screen and pen and paper only, for assessments in general.
Reported
- Candidates ask in forum threads whether more than one monitor is allowed.
- Advice circulates on prep sites that a second screen is fine for notes. It conflicts with the general integrity page and is unverified.
Not published
- Whether a webcam is used during Solve.
- What the software logs, such as clicks, tabs or focus.
- How a breach would be detected.
- How often the random follow-up happens.
Official items come from McKinsey's Solve page, its August 2025 Solve FAQ and its assessment integrity page, checked October 11, 2026. Reported items are candidate posts and unnamed prep advice, unverified.
Notice what the left column does not contain: a statement that anyone watches you live, or a statement that nobody does. Both claims circulate informally, and neither has a source. The Solve FAQ guide answers the wider run of short questions, and the Solve overview sets this topic inside the whole assessment.
Original fictional scenario: Priya reads a post that says "Solve is not proctored, so a second tab is fine". The post cites nothing. McKinsey's Solve FAQ bans websites during the sitting regardless of who is watching, so the claim fails on the rule even if it were true on the technology.
Does McKinsey Solve use your webcam?
McKinsey has not said whether Solve uses your webcam: its general assessment integrity page requires camera visibility for assessments and interviews, while the Solve page and the August 2025 Solve FAQ are silent on a camera, so the instructions in your own invitation decide. Do not assume "silent" means "off". Read the invitation and the on-screen instructions, and ask your recruiter before the day if neither mentions a camera.
- 1Your invitation and the on-screen instructionsThe setup for your own sitting, including whether a camera is expected.Official
- 2The Solve page and the August 2025 Solve FAQBanned aids, working alone, no recording, consequences, the random follow-up. No camera rule either way.Official
- 3The assessment integrity expectations pageCamera on, one screen, pen and paper only, no calculator, for any McKinsey assessment or interview.Official
- 4Candidate posts and prep-site adviceExperiences and opinions. Useful for the questions people ask, not for rules.Reported
The order is our editorial reading, not a McKinsey ranking. Your invitation comes first because it is written for your own sitting.
The integrity page covers "any assessment or interview", including virtual ones, and asks for a camera showing your upper body and hands, with no virtual background or blur. Whether Solve counts as an assessment in that sense, with a live camera, is exactly the gap. The test-day checklist walks through the full sitting, and the system requirements guide covers the device facts McKinsey does publish.
Original fictional scenario: Tomás finds no camera line in his Solve email. He writes to his recruiter two days ahead and asks one question: should a camera be on? Whatever the answer, he now sits knowing it, and the reply goes in his folder with the invitation.
What should your desk look like during McKinsey Solve?
Per McKinsey's integrity page, your desk should hold one screen, blank paper and a pen, with your hands and upper body in the camera frame if a camera is used; a second screen, calculator, printed notes and phone apps do not belong on it. This setup is the rule for assessments in general and the safe default for Solve. The drawing shows the shape; the numbers match the lists under it.
On the desk
- One screen. The device you take Solve on, with no second display and no overlays.
- Blank paper and a pen. The only note-taking tools the integrity page names. McKinsey may ask to see the notes, and you discard them afterwards.
- Your hands and upper body in view. The integrity page asks for a camera position that shows both while you write.
Off the desk
- A second screen or tablet. The integrity page says one screen.
- A calculator. Named as banned on the integrity page. A game may have its own tool; see the calculator guide.
- Printed or typed notes. The Solve FAQ bans pre-prepared notes.
- A phone with apps, sites or AI. The Solve FAQ bans applications, websites and AI tools.
An original illustration, not a McKinsey diagram. Each item cites McKinsey's Solve FAQ or its assessment integrity page, checked October 11, 2026. Item 3 applies only if a camera is used.
The same logic covers the room. McKinsey's FAQ recommends a slot where you will not be disturbed and can finish without interruption, and it expects you to take Solve alone. The system requirements guide covers the computer itself, and the invitation guide shows what to read in the email before you plan the desk.
Two monitors and a docked laptop
Candidates ask whether more than one monitor is allowed, and advice that a second screen is harmless circulates on prep sites. Neither is a source. The integrity page says one screen with no overlays, so unplug external displays unless your recruiter tells you otherwise in writing. If your only working setup needs a monitor, say so to your recruiter before the day instead of deciding alone.
Can McKinsey tell if you use another tab, a calculator or notes?
McKinsey has not published whether or how it can detect another tab, a calculator or notes during Solve, so no public source supports either "they can see everything" or "they cannot see anything". What it publishes is the rule for each aid, and the rule is the thing to follow. The table lists each aid against the live sitting, with the source behind the answer.
| Aid | Rule | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Another browser tab or website | Banned | Official Solve FAQ |
| An AI tool, including installed software that could assist or record | Banned | Official Solve FAQ, integrity page |
| A handheld or app calculator | Banned | Official Integrity page |
| Prepared or printed notes | Banned | Official Solve FAQ, integrity page |
| Blank paper and a pen | Allowed as the only note tools | Official Integrity page |
| A second screen | Not allowed: one screen | Official Integrity page |
| A tool built into the game itself | Use as the game provides it | Reported Candidate reports; see the Red Rock calculator guide |
| Screenshots or a recording | Banned | Official Solve FAQ, Solve page |
| Help from another person | Banned | Official Solve FAQ |
The one row that needs care is the tool inside a game. The integrity page bans a calculator as an outside tool, while candidates report an in-game calculator in Red Rock. Those are different things: one you bring, one the game supplies. The Red Rock calculator and journal guide keeps the two apart, and the Sea Wolf solver guide covers why a spreadsheet counts as an outside tool.
Original fictional scenario: Mei keeps a spare calculator in a drawer "just in case" and a spreadsheet on a second laptop. Neither helps her under the rules, because the integrity page names the calculator and the spreadsheet is an application. Moving both to another room removes the temptation and the risk in one step.
Tempting reading
"They never said they can see my tabs, so another tab is fine."
Treats the absence of a detection statement as permission.
Safer reading
"The FAQ bans websites during the sitting, so I keep one window open."
Treats the published rule as the boundary, whatever the software does.
Our reading of the sources. McKinsey publishes the rules and consequences; it does not publish detection methods.
What can McKinsey do after the sitting if it doubts your work?
According to McKinsey's Solve FAQ, a candidate may be asked at random to take an additional task in person, to explain their logic, or both, and the recruiter tells you if this applies; the FAQ gives no rate, no trigger and no description of the task. It also states that scenarios vary so that no two candidates share the same data. Below is the path the FAQ describes, in order.
- Scenarios vary by design Official
The FAQ says Solve uses AI methods so scenarios differ, so that no two candidates share the same parameters and data. That is given as part of its answer on cheating.
- You may be picked at random Official
You may be asked to do an extra task in person or to explain your logic. McKinsey gives no rate and no trigger.
- Your recruiter tells you Official
The FAQ says the recruiter informs you if this applies. It does not describe the task or its length.
- The rules carry consequences Official
Breaking them may lead to exclusion, a rescinded offer, restrictions on future applications or legal action.
From the August 2025 Solve FAQ and the Solve page. The order is our reading: the FAQ lists these points without ranking them or saying one triggers another.
The wording matters, so here it is exactly. The FAQ says you may be “asked at random to take an additional task in person and/or to explain your logic used”. It also says Solve is designed so that “no two individuals have the same parameters and combinations of data”. Put together, an honest candidate has little to fear from a follow-up question about their own reasoning, because it is their own reasoning. The scores and results guide covers what a result can tell you, and the guide to how the result is used explains where Solve sits among the other factors a recruiter weighs.
Original fictional scenario: Ravi finishes Solve, and a week later his recruiter writes that he has been picked for a short conversation about how he approached one game. He does not know why, and McKinsey does not say. He talks through his method, as he would for any interview question.
Prepare to explain, not to defend
If you work from a clear method, explaining it later is easy. Practising your own reasoning out loud after a run is the useful habit, and it needs no outside help. The Solve tips guide covers habits that make a method repeatable.
What are the consequences of breaking the rules, and who can be exempt?
McKinsey's Solve FAQ and Solve page say breaking the rules may result in exclusion from consideration, a rescinded offer, restrictions on future applications or legal action, and the only exception is an accommodation for a disability approved in writing by McKinsey. The FAQ describes failure to follow the rules as a violation of its values. The four outcomes are listed, with no scale between them.
- Exclusion from consideration
- A rescinded offer
- Restrictions on future applications
- Legal action
The order is McKinsey's own listing. It does not say which outcome follows which breach, so none should be read as a ladder.
The exception deserves more attention than the penalties, because honest candidates are the ones who meet it. If you have a disability, a health condition or a specific learning difficulty, McKinsey says to speak to your recruiter. The accommodations guide covers that process, and the deadline guide covers timing questions that sit next to it.
Decide alone
Open a screen reader or another aid on test day and hope it is acceptable.
McKinsey allows the exception only for an accommodation it approved in writing.
Ask first, in writing
Email the recruiter before the date, ask for the accommodation process and keep the written approval.
Your recruiter is the named route for accommodations, before the sitting.
Rule and route from the August 2025 Solve FAQ. The example is original.
One related point. If a technical fault interrupts you, contact support while it is happening, as the FAQ says, and describe the screen in words. Do not photograph it, because capturing the assessment is itself banned. The retake guide covers what is and is not published about a second attempt.
How do you set up the night before so nothing is in doubt?
The safest setup is the one that follows the strictest source: one screen, blank paper and a pen, no other app or person, a slot without interruption, and the camera question answered in writing. Doing it the night before leaves time to ask your recruiter anything that is unclear. The list below is our preparation advice, built from McKinsey's stated rules.
- Read the invitation for any camera or setup line
It outranks every other page.
- Clear the desk to one screen, blank paper and a pen
Put everything else in another room.
- Unplug spare displays and close other windows
Disable installed AI software that could assist or record.
- Pick a slot where nobody will walk in
The FAQ asks for a slot without interruption.
- Keep the support address to hand
Technical faults go to support while they happen.
Our advice, drawn from the Solve FAQ and the integrity page. McKinsey publishes no setup checklist for Solve.
Four questions worth sending to your recruiter
If anything in the invitation is unclear, a short message settles it before the day. McKinsey directs non-technical questions to your recruiter, so this is the right route.
- Will a camera be on during my Solve sitting, and if so what must it show?
- Is one screen the rule for my sitting, and may an external monitor stay plugged in?
- Is blank paper and a pen all I may have beside me?
- Do I need written approval for anything I rely on, and who gives it?
Keep the reply with your invitation. The prep plan shows where this fits in the days before, and the 65, 85 or 95 minute guide helps you size the quiet block you need. For practice, Red Rock and Sea Wolf both reward the same clear-desk discipline. Road to Offer offers one complete free run of each of four practice formats: Red Rock, Sea Wolf, SFL Classic and SFL Island; no payment is required for the first runs or their worked reviews. Paid Learning mode adds coaching and feedback at each step, untimed in the clocked games, with the matching game pack, Solve pack or Annual access. The separate free Solve plan uses your invitation length and test date to give dated practice steps for up to 28 days; a free account is needed to view and save it.
What do other McKinsey assessments and rumours change about this?
Nothing in McKinsey's Solve sources changes because of what other firms do or what a forum says: the integrity page is McKinsey's own and covers its assessments and interviews, while claims about other tests or other years are not evidence for yours. Where you hear "Solve is easy to game" or "Solve is watched by cameras", ask for the source and expect none.
For how Solve compares with other firms' online tests, see the McKinsey, BCG and Bain comparison. For other McKinsey tests by role, see McKinsey online assessments by role. For how the forum claims hold up, read McKinsey Solve on Reddit: 10 claims checked, and for the older test names, PSG, Imbellus and Solve.
Original fictional scenario: a friend who sat a different firm's test says a webcam was on throughout. That is a fact about that test. It tells you nothing about Solve, and it does not change what you should read in your own invitation.
Sources and evidence boundaries
- Official, checked October 11, 2026: McKinsey's Solve page and Solve FAQ (August 2025 PDF). Source for banned aids, working alone, no recording or screenshots, consequences, scenario variation and the random follow-up task.
- Official, checked October 11, 2026: assessment integrity expectations. It applies to any assessment or interview and is the source for camera, one screen, pen and paper only and no calculator. It does not name Solve. The disability accommodations page is the route for the written-approval exception.
- Reported: candidates ask in forums whether multiple monitors are allowed, and unnamed prep advice says a second screen is harmless. These establish the questions, not the rules, and conflict with the integrity page.
- Unknown in the public sources reviewed: whether a webcam is used during Solve, what the software records or logs, how any breach is detected, how often the random follow-up occurs and what it involves. We make no claim about click tracking, tab detection or camera use, and this guide offers no way around any rule. Your invitation and your recruiter govern your sitting.
