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TestGorilla

Can You Cheat TestGorilla? The Screen Locks

TestGorilla locks the screen and leaves the clock running, so every second spent looking something up comes out of the time you have to answer.

Short answer: no.

Leaving full-screen hides the question and logs the exit while the clock keeps going, and the clocks are set so there is no spare time to research an answer.

12 s
a question on Abstract Reasoning
50 in 10 minutes
45 s
a question on Problem Solving
12 in 9 minutes
15 s
between webcam snapshots
0
questions you can go back to

The screen locks, and the clock does not

Since August 2025 every TestGorilla test runs in mandatory full-screen. The moment you leave it, to search, to open a chatbot or to check a message, the question disappears from view. The clock does not pause. You come back to the same question with less time, and the exit is already in the log the employer reads.

That is the whole mechanism, and it is enough. Almost every shortcut candidates try means looking at something other than the test, and TestGorilla has made looking away cost the one thing the test is short of, which is time.

Leaving the screen does not get you an answer. It gets you a hidden question, a running clock and a line in the employer's log.

What gets recorded

Screen
Full-screen exits
Every exit is logged, and the question is hidden until you return. The clock keeps running throughout.
Browser
Tabs, pasting, developer tools
Tab switches, text pasted into answers and opened developer tools are recorded, along with your IP location.
Webcam
A snapshot every 15 seconds
Unless the employer switches them off, which is the only one of these measures they can disable.
Report
A behaviour tier beside your score
The log is summarised as no issues, some issues or major issues, and the employer sees it next to the percentile.

The clock is the second half of the defence

TestGorilla says its tests are designed so that most candidates can finish them in the time, while not giving them too much time to research answers. The numbers bear that out. Abstract Reasoning gives you about 12 seconds a question, Mechanical Reasoning under 30, Problem Solving 45 for multi-step puzzles. A lookup that takes a minute is several questions you never reach, and because a skipped question is marked wrong and you cannot go back, that minute is gone for good.

A leaked answer list is out of date

Each test draws its questions from a bank of about 100, and TestGorilla sets a maximum number of times any question can be shown before it is retired. Two candidates sitting the same test see different sets, and a list of answers passed around online describes questions that are already on their way out.

It follows you past one application

TestGorilla runs a talent pool that recruiters search, and says dishonest behaviour may reduce a candidate's visibility in it. A flag is not only a problem with the employer who sent the invitation; it can quietly narrow the next ones too.

The preparation that does raise a score

1
Find out which tests you have been sent
The invitation's welcome screen names them. TestGorilla has seventeen cognitive tests alone, and practising the wrong one wastes the time you have.
2
Practise the one-way format
No going back and one clock for the whole test changes how you pace. Practise deciding quickly when to guess and move on, because a skip scores the same as a wrong answer.
3
Answer everything
There is no penalty for a wrong answer. Before the clock runs out, make sure the question on screen has an answer and is submitted, because an unsubmitted answer is lost.
4
Set up for a clean sitting
A computer, Chrome, a calculator, pen and paper, notifications off and nothing else open. Then there is no reason for the screen to leave full-screen at all.

You can practise TestGorilla's cognitive tests in the same one-way format, with the real clocks and results broken down by skill area.

Frequently asked questions

Can you cheat on TestGorilla?

No. Every TestGorilla test runs in enforced full-screen. Switching away to search or ask a chatbot hides the question, leaves the clock running and logs the exit for the employer. The clocks are set so there is little spare time to look anything up, and you cannot go back to a question once you have moved on.

Does TestGorilla detect tab switching?

Yes. Leaving full-screen, switching tabs, pasting text and opening developer tools are all logged, and the webcam takes a snapshot every 15 seconds unless the employer has turned snapshots off. These are summarised into a behaviour tier, no issues, some issues or major issues, which the employer sees next to your score.

Can I use ChatGPT on a TestGorilla test?

TestGorilla allows pen, paper and a calculator and asks candidates not to use AI or other tools. Using one means leaving the test screen, which hides the question while the clock runs and is logged. On a test like Abstract Reasoning, with about 12 seconds a question, there is no time for it anyway.

Are TestGorilla answers online?

Not in any useful form. Each test draws its questions from a bank of about 100, and TestGorilla caps how many times any one question is shown, so a leaked list goes out of date quickly and would not match the questions you are given.

Can I use a calculator on TestGorilla?

Yes. Pen, paper and a calculator are allowed, which is not cheating and is worth using on the numerical and maths tests.

What happens if TestGorilla flags me?

The employer sees the flag next to your score and decides what to do. TestGorilla also says dishonest behaviour may reduce your visibility in TestGorilla Sourcing, the talent pool recruiters search, so it can follow you beyond one application.

Practise the TestGorilla assessment instead

Realistic simulations with scored feedback, so you walk in having already done it once. Free to start.

Start Practising FreeSee the TestGorilla tests

What to do with the time instead

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TestGorilla practice tests

TestGorilla cognitive ability tests, as an employer's invitation from talent-assessment.testgorilla.com lists them: Numerical Reasoning, Critical Thinking, Verbal Reasoning, Problem Solving, Abstract Reasoning, the Rapid Cognitive Index (RCI), Attention to Detail (Textual), Reading Comprehension, Mechanical Reasoning, Basic Math Calculations, Basic Double-Digit Math, Basic Triple-Digit Math, Intermediate Math, Computational Thinking, Understanding Instructions, Attention to Detail (Visual) and Spatial Reasoning. 17 tests, each on TestGorilla's one-way screen: one clock, no going back, a skip marked wrong. We cover the cognitive tests only, not TestGorilla's role, language or personality tests.

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