During a Test

Running a test with OpenScouter is straightforward, and you are never alone in the process. This guide walks you through everything from accepting a study offer to wrapping up at the end.

Accepting a Study Offer

When a researcher invites you to participate, you will receive a message through Telegram. The message includes a brief description of the study, the estimated time it takes, and your compensation.

Tap Accept to confirm your spot. If you change your mind before the test begins, you can decline without any penalty.

For Testers

Study invites can expire if a researcher fills spots quickly. If you want to take part, it is best to respond as soon as you can.

Opening the Test Link

After accepting, you will receive a unique test link. Open it in Chrome with the OpenScouter extension installed and enabled.

For Testers

The OpenScouter Chrome extension is currently in development and is not yet available on the Chrome Web Store. When you are matched to a study, you will receive the extension directly from our team with installation instructions.

If the extension is not active, the test cannot start. Look for the OpenScouter icon in your browser toolbar. A coloured icon means it is ready. A grey icon means it needs attention.

For Testers

Always use a private or regular Chrome window. Avoid opening the link in a browser profile that blocks extensions, such as a work-managed profile.

The Briefing Overlay

Once the link loads, a briefing overlay appears before anything else. This is your moment to understand what you are about to do.

The overlay shows:

• Study details - the name of the study, the product or website you will be testing, and roughly how long it should take.
• Task list - a numbered list of tasks the researcher would like you to complete. You can scroll through the full list before starting.
• Consent checkbox - a clear statement about what data is collected during the test. You must tick this box to continue.
• Start button - once you have read the briefing and ticked consent, press Start Test to begin.

Take your time here. There is no countdown on the briefing screen.

What We Collect During a Test

OpenScouter runs three data streams while you work through the tasks. Here is what each one does and why it matters.

Browser Events

We track where you click, scroll, and navigate. This helps us see exactly where barriers occur. For example, if many testers pause on the same button before moving on, that tells the researcher something important about that element.

No personal data from the page content is captured. We record interactions, not information.

Facial Expressions

Your webcam detects emotions like frustration or confusion — not your identity. Raw video never leaves your computer. Only emotion labels are sent, such as “confused” or “neutral,” along with a timestamp. Researchers use this to understand how moments in the test felt, not just what happened.

For Testers

You will be asked to grant webcam permission when the test starts. If you decline, the facial expression stream is skipped and the rest of the test runs normally.

Voice

If you think aloud during the test, we transcribe your words. Your perspective, in your words, is often the most valuable signal a researcher receives. Hearing a tester say “I expected this to scroll” tells far more than any click map.

Transcription happens locally through the extension. Audio is not stored or sent to our servers.

For Testers

Thinking aloud is encouraged but never required. Even quiet testers provide valuable data through browser events and facial expressions.

Meet Scouty, Your AI Companion

Scouty is your AI companion during the test. It watches the same things the researcher will review later, and it occasionally offers a friendly observation.

You might see Scouty say something like:

“Ooh, I noticed something interesting about that button! What did you expect to happen there?”

Scouty is there to help you reflect in the moment, not to judge your performance. There are no right or wrong answers. Scouty’s prompts are designed to surface thoughts you might not have said out loud.

You can dismiss any Scouty message and continue at your own pace.

Pausing and Resuming

Life happens. If you need to take a break mid-test, click the Pause button in the floating extension panel at the bottom of your screen.

Data collection stops immediately when you pause. When you are ready to continue, click Resume and pick up from where you left off.

For Testers

If you close the browser tab while paused, your progress may be lost depending on the study settings. Try to resume before closing if you plan to continue.

Ending the Test

When you finish the last task, a completion screen appears. It confirms that your data has been submitted and shows your estimated payout timeline.

If you finish all tasks before the suggested time is up, that is completely fine. Quality matters more than speed.

If you run into a task that feels impossible or unclear, you can mark it as Unable to complete using the task panel. This feedback is useful to researchers and will not affect your compensation.

Once the test ends, the extension returns to its idle state and you are done.