Is tab switching during BCG’s online assessment detected?

Question

I recently took BCG’s online assessment, and during the test, I accidentally switched tabs or briefly navigated away from the assessment page. I immediately returned and continued the test as normal.
This may be a trivial question, but I wanted to ask whether BCG’s online assessment tracks or flags tab switching or page navigation, and whether the content of the tab or page visited is also visible to the recruiter or system.
Thank you very much in advance.

Answer 1

This is a completely understandable worry, and trust me, you are not the first candidate to panic after accidentally clicking outside the window on a high-stakes assessment.

Here is the straightforward insider view on how these platforms handle integrity: Yes, the software definitely tracks browser focus and tab switching. It records it as an event with a time stamp and duration. However, the system is highly sophisticated and is specifically looking for patterns of cheating. A single, immediate navigation away and instant return is logged, but it will not trigger the kind of severe integrity violation flag that would automatically disqualify you.

The important distinction is that recruiters are not viewing a live feed of your browser history or the content of the tab you accidentally visited. What they see is a dashboard summarizing performance and any critical alerts. If your score places you in the required percentile, a momentary, low-duration integrity flag is typically ignored or heavily discounted. The system is designed to catch candidates who spend 30 seconds searching for answers, not those who had a brief mouse slip.

Your job now is to forget the tab switch. You cannot change it, and obsessing over the mechanics wastes energy. Focus entirely on your performance on the actual assessment. If you felt strong about your results, assume the flag was benign and pivot all your energy toward case interview prep—that is where the real win rate is decided.

Hope it helps!

Answer 2

Hi there,

Brief tab switching happens all the time accidentally, and on its own it does not trigger an automatic rejection.

What typically applies in practice:

The system may technically log basic events like focus loss, but this is mainly for integrity checks at scale, not for penalizing brief or accidental switches
Recruiters do not see the content of other tabs you opened
A short, isolated tab switch is very different from repeated switching or clearly suspicious behavior

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Hi there,

This shouldn't be an issue. I know it's hard but I suggest you hold on tight and wait for results of your online assessment and try not to overthink during this time.

Answer 4

Don't worry about it.

If they believe it was suspicious, they would ask you about it first. They wouldn't just kick you out of the process.

And it sounds like an honest mistake. That's not what the test is intended to prevent.

Hope all goes well and you hear from them soon!
Best,
Cristian