Fair play in contests: what is recorded, and what happens after a violation

Each contest's rules page says exactly what that contest records and whether AI help is allowed. Read it before you register: by registering you agree to it.

What a contest may record

• Every contest: after the round, submissions go through a similarity review that a person reads.
• Some contests also record, with the time, when you switch away from a problem page and when you leave fullscreen.
• Some record copying and pasting in the editor and uploading a file, counted in bytes. What you paste is never stored.
• An invigilated contest asks for your consent to share your screen with the organizer.

Unless the rules page says otherwise, your camera, your microphone and what you type outside a paste are not recorded. Nothing recorded decides anything by itself: a person reads the evidence before any decision.

AI help

Each contest picks one of three rules: AI allowed, AI only for help such as explaining an error but not for writing the solution, or no AI at all. The rules page says which.

If a violation is confirmed

• First time: the flagged submissions are skipped in the standings, and the contest is unrated for that account.
• Second time: a three-month ban from registering for any contest.
• Third time: a permanent ban from registering for any contest.

The rules give you 48 hours from when a decision is recorded to appeal it. A question about a decision on your account? Open a ticket in Contests and the Judge with the contest's link.