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Interview cheating tools: what hiring teams should know

Interview cheating tools are apps that listen to the call or read the screen, then show answers only the candidate can see. Most say they stay hidden from screen sharing, so the call alone rarely shows them. A clear policy and a check on the candidate's computer help most.

By Bhanu Kowshik, Founder

Updated 6 min read

A line drawing of a laptop on a video call with three dashed floating panels of text around it, a phone beside it and a green magnifier.
On this page
  1. Introduction
  2. The main interview cheating tools, and what each one claims
  3. What these tools have in common
  4. Why "undetectable" is a sales word
  5. What hiring teams can do
  6. Test results for four of these tools
  7. Questions hiring teams ask
  8. Sources

Key takeaways

  • Same pattern, many names. Listen or read the screen, then show a private answer.
  • "Undetectable" is a sales word. Hidden from screen sharing is a narrower claim, and it is not guaranteed.
  • Start with a policy. Say what is allowed, then ask questions that build on the candidate's own answers.
  • Tested. Interview Coder, OpenCluely, Pluely and Cheating Daddy were each found in 30 of 30 tries, with 0 of 30 false alarms (October 4, 2026).

This guide is about job interviews, not exams or games. It is for hiring teams who want to know what candidates may be using. It names the main tools and what each one says about itself, so you know what you are dealing with. It does not explain how to use them. In Checkr's survey of 3,000 US managers, published October 15, 2026, 60% say AI has made virtual interviews harder to trust.

The main interview cheating tools, and what each one claims

Eight tools, what each says it does, what it says about being seen, and what a host usually sees
ToolWhat it says it doesWhat it says about being seenWhat a host usually sees
Cluely"AI meeting assistant" that "listens in real time""Invisible to screen share." and "Doesn't join meetings."A normal call, with no extra participant
Interview Coder"AI Interview Assistant for Technical Interviews""Overlay remains hidden when sharing your screen"A clean shared screen
Final Round AIAnswers "in a private window only you can see"Says its answer "is hidden from screen sharing"A normal call, sometimes a pause before answers
LockedIn AI"provides real-time answers, code solutions, and live coaching""Private when you share your screen." Also offers a phone: "Prop it next to your laptop."A normal call, or eyes moving to one spot
Parakeet AI"Your Real-Time AI Interview Assistant", "built for conversations where AI assistance is permitted""stays completely invisible to others"A normal call, sometimes a pause before answers
OpenCluely"The invisible AI interview copilot.""a stealth overlay that screen sharing cannot see"A clean shared screen
Pluely"Your invisible AI, over everything you do." Free to download"Invisible on screen shares"A normal call, with no extra participant
Cheating Daddy"A real-time AI assistant" for calls, interviews and meetingsDescribes a "Transparent Overlay" and a click-through modeA normal call, sometimes a pause before answers

The quoted wording is each maker's own, read on its site or repository on November 1, 2026. These are claims, not tests. What a host usually sees is our general description, not a promise about any one call. We do not link to these tools, so this page is not a way to get them. The free ones, and what their makers admit about hiding, are in open-source Cluely alternatives. For background, TechCrunch reported in April 2025 that Cluely grew out of Interview Coder, which its founder built with a co-founder while at Columbia University.

What these tools have in common

Almost all of them work the same way. They take in the question, from the call audio or a capture of the screen. They send it to an AI model. They show the answer in a window the candidate can see and the interviewer cannot. A video call only carries the camera, the microphone and what the candidate presents, so that window never reaches you. See how hidden AI interview helpers stay invisible, in their own words.

What you see, and what runs on their computerLeft, what the interviewer receives in the call. Right, what can run on the candidate's computer without reaching the call.WHAT YOU SEE, AND WHAT RUNS ON THEIR COMPUTERIn the callTheir face from the cameraTheir voice from the microphoneThe tab, window or screen theypresentA notetaker bot, if one joinsOn their computer, often unseenAn answer window left out ofscreen captureAn app listening to the call audioA live transcript in a browserextensionA phone beside the laptop What you see, and what runs on their computerLeft, what the interviewer receives in the call. Right, what can run on the candidate's computer without reaching the call.WHAT YOU SEE, WHAT RUNS ON THEIR COMPUTERIn the callTheir face from the cameraTheir voice from the microphoneThe tab, window or screen theypresentA notetaker bot, if one joinsOn their computer, often unseenAn answer window left out of screencaptureAn app listening to the call audioA live transcript in a browserextensionA phone beside the laptop
Interview Coder and Parakeet AI say their windows stay hidden from screen sharing. Otter's extension can transcribe a call with no extra participant. None of this reaches the shared view.

Why “undetectable” is a sales word

Most of these makers mean one narrow thing: the window stays out of screen capture. Windows offers a setting for this. Microsoft's documentation says that with it, "the window does not appear at all" outside the monitor. The same page says "there is no guarantee" that the setting protects content.

The makers' own pages show the gap. Interview Coder's FAQ includes the question "Why is Interview Coder visible on Google Meet with Windows 10?" Final Round AI's FAQ uses more careful wording than its headline: Stealth Mode "is designed to keep" the assistant hidden. So a clean shared screen tells you little either way, and it says nothing about what else is running on the computer.

What hiring teams can do

  1. Set the rule first. Decide whether AI help is allowed in each round, write it down, and say it at the start of the interview. Parakeet AI itself says to check the rules first.
  2. Ask questions that build. Follow up on the candidate's own last answer. Ask for a decision they made and what they would change.
  3. Ask them to explain their work. For coding rounds, have them walk through what they just wrote, in their own words.
  4. Treat signs as questions. Pauses and eye movement also come from nerves or a second monitor. The guide on stopping cheating in video interviews covers what you can do by hand.
  5. Use a check that sees past the call. A check on the candidate's own computer, with their consent, can look at what the shared screen cannot. Our guide to cheating detection tools compares the approaches, and Verified Call vs InterviewGuard shows one comparison in detail.

Test results for four of these tools

In our own testing on October 4, 2026, Verified Call opened each of 4 free AI answer tools 30 times: Interview Coder, OpenCluely, Pluely and Cheating Daddy.

30 of 30
tries, each of the 4 tools found (at least 90.5% per tool, 95% confidence)
0 of 30
false alarms with no AI tool open, and 0 of 30 with everyday apps open

Thirty tries is a small sample, and our guide on false-alarm rates explains how to read a number like this. The full conditions are on the Research page. A result is advice for the host, who decides what it means. For the wider picture, see the interview integrity statistics.

Questions hiring teams ask

What are interview cheating tools?

Apps that help a candidate during a live interview, usually by listening to the questions or reading the screen and showing suggested answers in a private window. Some are marketed for meetings in general and some for interviews only.

Which AI tools do candidates use in interviews?

Names hiring teams hear most include Cluely, Interview Coder, Final Round AI, LockedIn AI and Parakeet AI, plus free tools such as OpenCluely, Pluely and Cheating Daddy. New ones appear often, so a policy should cover the behavior, not a list of names.

Are interview cheating tools really undetectable?

That is a marketing claim. Hiding a window from screen sharing is not the same as being undetectable. Microsoft says the setting behind this comes with no guarantee, and a check on the candidate's own computer can look beyond the shared picture.

Is every AI tool in an interview against the rules?

Not always. The employer sets the rule, and some allow AI in some rounds. That is why the first step is to say at the start of the interview what is allowed.

Do these tools work on phone interviews?

Some say so. Final Round AI says it works on phone screens through another device, and LockedIn AI offers an app for your phone. A helper on a separate device does not appear on the laptop's shared screen.

Why does this guide not link to the tools?

This guide is for hiring teams, so it names each tool and quotes its claims without sending anyone to a download page. The wording was read on each maker's own site on the date shown.

Answered in other guides

Sources

  1. Microsoft LearnSetWindowDisplayAffinity functionRead November 1, 2026
  2. CheckrThe Hiring Hoax 2026 (survey of 3,000 US managers, fielded September 11 to 16, 2026)October 15, 2026
  3. TechCrunchColumbia student suspended over interview cheating tool raises $5.3M to cheat on everythingApril 21, 2025
  4. Verified CallPublished test resultsUpdated October 26, 2026

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