The short answer
Is Cluely detectable? Not reliably by any single tool an employer is likely to use. Cluely claims to be invisible to screen share, and we found no documentation from Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet saying they detect it. Some assessment platforms document stronger controls, such as HackerRank’s Desktop App Mode, which its support page says detects and closes tools including Cluely. What works best is process design: timed tests, follow-up questions on the candidate’s own work and human review.
What Cluely is
Cluely is an AI assistant for meetings and calls. On its homepage, checked on 2026-10-02, it says it "takes perfect meeting notes and gives real-time answers, all while completely undetectable", that it "listens in real time, understands what's being said, and gives you instant answers, notes, and next steps", and that it is "invisible to screen share", adding that it "never shows up in shared screens, recordings, or external meeting tools" and "doesn't join meetings".
Those are Cluely's own marketing claims, quoted and attributed. We have not tested them, and a vendor's claim about being hard to detect is not evidence of how it behaves in your process. So is Cluely detectable in your interviews? The honest starting point is to assume not, and to design around it. What matters for employers is that a candidate could, in principle, receive suggested answers during a call without anything appearing on the shared screen.
How overlay assistants work at a high level
How does Cluely work? In broad terms, overlay assistants run as an app on the candidate's own computer. They listen to the conversation or read what is on screen, send it to an AI model and show a suggested answer in a small window that only the candidate sees. Because the window sits on the candidate's display rather than in the meeting software, the other people on the call do not see it.
That is all an employer needs to know about the mechanism. We deliberately do not describe installation, settings or ways of avoiding detection. The useful question for a hiring team is not how the app is built, but which parts of the interview a suggested answer can and cannot help with, which the sections below cover.
Can Zoom, Teams or Google Meet detect Cluely?
We found no public documentation from Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, when we checked on 2026-10-02, describing detection of Cluely or similar overlay assistants. That does not prove they cannot; it means none of them documents it, so you should not rely on the meeting platform to flag it.
So, can Zoom detect Cluely? Plan as if it cannot. And can Microsoft Teams detect Cluely? The same applies, as it does to Google Meet. Video meetings remain useful for structured interviews, but the protection comes from the questions you ask, not from the platform.
Can HackerRank, CodeSignal or CoderPad detect Cluely?
Assessment platforms document more, and the answers differ by vendor.
HackerRank. Its support article on Desktop App Mode says the application "detects and closes any other programs that candidates try to open during the test, including invisible cheating tools such as Cluely and Ultracode", and that it "blocks the use of other applications during the test". This applies to tests taken in its desktop app mode, not to every way HackerRank can be used, and the same article notes a current limitation on content protection. So the answer to "can HackerRank detect Cluely" is: HackerRank documents that its desktop app mode is designed to.
CodeSignal. Its cheating and fraud page describes a Suspicion Score that analyses solution similarity, telemetry and copy-paste activity and identifies "patterns that may indicate AI-assisted behavior", plus AI proctoring that records video, audio and screen, and identity verification. It does not name Cluely on that page.
CoderPad. Its homepage describes real-time alerts for suspicious behaviour, playback reports and integrity tests, and an approach in which AI assistants run inside the interview with prompts captured for review. It does not name Cluely there.
Ask any vendor exactly what its features cover, in which modes, and how flags are shown for review.
| What the vendor documents | |
|---|---|
| Zoom | No public documentation found; ask the vendor |
| Microsoft Teams | No public documentation found; ask the vendor |
| Google Meet | No public documentation found; ask the vendor |
| HackerRank (Desktop App Mode) | Detects and closes other programs, naming Cluely; blocks other applicationsSource, checked 2026-10-02 |
| CodeSignal | Suspicion Score for patterns that may indicate AI-assisted behaviour; AI proctoringSource, checked 2026-10-02 |
| CoderPad | Suspicious-behaviour alerts, playback reports, captured AI promptsSource, checked 2026-10-02 |
| Respondus LockDown Browser | Prevents access to other applications, screen sharing and remote desktopsSource, checked 2026-10-02 |
What a lockdown browser does and does not cover
A lockdown browser restricts what a candidate can do on the computer taking the test. Respondus, a lockdown browser used in education, says LockDown Browser "prevents access to other applications including messaging, screen-sharing, virtual machines, and remote desktops", prevents copying and pasting, and disables printing and screen capture.
Its page does not name Cluely, so does Cluely work on lockdown browser setups? That is not something we can answer from the vendor's documentation. And no lockdown browser can control a second device, such as a phone or another laptop, in the same room. Lockdown browsers are also more common in education than in hiring, and many small employers will never use one. Treat them, if at all, as one layer alongside design measures, never as the only safeguard.
Signals employers can observe
Can Cluely be detected by an interviewer, without any tool? Not with certainty, but some patterns may suggest a candidate is reading suggested answers:
- Latency before answers. A consistent pause, then a fluent, complete answer, especially to unexpected questions.
- Eye movement. Eyes tracking text away from the camera while answering. Treat this with particular caution: many people look away to think, and some disabilities and cultural norms affect eye contact.
- Answers that do not survive a follow-up. A polished first answer, then difficulty explaining why, giving a specific example or adapting the answer to a new constraint.
- Generic detail. Answers that sound right for anyone but contain nothing specific about the candidate's own work.
None of these proves anything, and each has innocent explanations, including nerves and thinking in a second language. Use them only as prompts for more questions, as the integrity overview explains, and apply the same approach to every candidate.
Designing assessments where overlay help matters less
The most reliable answer to Cluely detection is to make suggested answers less useful. Four design choices help most.
Test skills before the call. Short, timed skills tests with randomised questions leave little time to relay each item to a tool, and give you evidence before the interview. The test library has tests for common small-business roles.
Ask about the candidate's own work. Structured questions, like those in our interview templates, work best. Questions like "Walk me through a decision you made on your last project, and what you would change" depend on the candidate's own experience, which a generic suggestion cannot supply.
Follow up twice. After each answer, ask "why?" and then "what if this changed?". Overlay help struggles with the second and third layers of a conversation.
Bring their work into the room. Ask the candidate to explain one of their test answers or to adapt a work sample live. Our guide to reducing AI assistance and the employer's guide to AI interview cheating tools go further.
How HireValid approaches it
HireValid does not claim to detect Cluely or any specific app. Our tests are timed and draw questions from randomised pools, and formats ask candidates to apply information rather than recall it. Depending on the settings you enable, integrity evidence can include tab switches, paste events, typing bursts and unusual answer timing, with optional camera checks only with notice and consent.
Those signals feed an Integrity Score on every result, for a person to review. A low score is a reason to look at the events and ask the candidate about them; it never rejects anyone automatically. The stop AI interview cheating page shows how this fits before the interview.
Test skills before the interview
Timed, randomised tests with an Integrity Score on every result. Start free.
What to say to a candidate
If something in an interview makes you suspect AI help, stay neutral and give the candidate a fair chance to show their skill. For example:
"Thanks. I'd like to go a bit deeper on that. Can you walk me through a specific time you did this, and what you would do differently now?"
or, after a test:
"Your test showed a few pauses and window changes in one section. Was anything going on? We'd like to ask you two short follow-up questions on the same topic."
Record what you observed, what the candidate said and how the follow-up went, and decide on all the evidence. The understanding integrity signals checklist sets out the steps.
Frequently asked questions
How is Cluely "undetectable"?+
Cluely claims to be "invisible to screen share" and says it does not join meetings, so its window does not appear in what others see on the call. That is a marketing claim, not a tested fact. Some assessment platforms document controls aimed at such tools, and your own follow-up questions still work whatever the claim.
Can Zoom detect Cluely?+
We found no Zoom documentation, as of 2026-10-02, saying it detects Cluely or similar overlay assistants, so plan as if it cannot. Use structured interviews with follow-up questions on the candidate’s own work, and skills tests taken before the call.
Can HackerRank detect Cluely?+
HackerRank’s support article on Desktop App Mode says the app detects and closes other programs, including tools such as Cluely, and blocks other applications during the test. That applies to tests in its desktop app mode; ask HackerRank how it applies to your setup.
Can Microsoft Teams detect Cluely?+
We found no Microsoft Teams documentation, as of 2026-10-02, describing detection of Cluely or similar tools. Treat Teams interviews the same way as any video call: structure the questions, follow up on specifics and confirm skills with a test or work sample.
Does Cluely work on a lockdown browser?+
Respondus documents that its LockDown Browser prevents access to other applications, screen sharing and remote desktops, but it does not name Cluely, so we cannot confirm either way. No lockdown browser controls a second device, so use design measures as well.
Can CodeSignal detect Cluely?+
CodeSignal does not name Cluely on its cheating and fraud page. It describes a Suspicion Score that analyses solution similarity, telemetry and copy-paste activity to find patterns that may indicate AI-assisted behaviour, plus AI proctoring that records video, audio and screen. Ask CodeSignal what those features catch in your setup.
Can CoderPad detect Cluely?+
CoderPad does not name Cluely on its homepage. It describes real-time alerts for suspicious behaviour, playback reports and interviews in which AI assistants run inside the platform with prompts captured for review. Ask CoderPad how its alerts would treat an app running outside the browser.
Should I ask candidates whether they use Cluely?+
Rather than asking about one app, state your rules clearly: which tools are allowed at each stage and that interviews should be answered in the candidate’s own words. Clear rules give honest candidates certainty and give you a fair basis for follow-up.
Sources
- Cluely homepage, checked 2026-10-02
- HackerRank support: Desktop App Mode, checked 2026-10-02
- CodeSignal: cheating and fraud, checked 2026-10-02
- CoderPad homepage, checked 2026-10-02
- Respondus LockDown Browser, checked 2026-10-02
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