Testing without a browser extension: Troubleshoot the floating taskbar

On this page:

• About troubleshooting the floating taskbar
• What your participants might report
• Steps to troubleshoot the floating taskbar
• Contact UserTesting Support

About troubleshooting the floating taskbar

• When you run a test with Testing without a browser extension turned on and your test includes a navigation task, or a Figma task, a small floating task bar appears on your participant's screen showing the task they're currently working on. 
• This feature is powered by a built-in browser capability called Picture-in-Picture (PiP).
• For most participants, the floating task bar works automatically. However, on managed corporate devices, organization-level browser policies may restrict Picture-in-Picture, preventing the taskbar from appearing.

What your participants might report

If Picture-in-Picture is being blocked, your participant may tell you:

• The navigation or Figma task opened in a new tab
• They couldn't see any task instructions while on the site or page being reviewed
• Their session recorded fine, the floating taskbar overlay just wasn't visible

If your participant encounters any of these issues, follow the steps below to identify the cause.

Steps to troubleshoot the floating taskbar

Step 1: Make sure the participant's browser is up to date

The floating task bar requires:

• Google Chrome version 116 or higher, or
• Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based, version 116 or higher)

Ask your participant to open chrome://version (or edge://version) and check their version number. If it's outdated, they'll need to update it before moving on.

If their browser can't be updated, which is common on managed devices where IT controls updates, continue to Step 2.
 

Step 2: Confirm the floating task bar API is available

A quick check in the browser's developer tools will tell you whether the underlying Picture-in-Picture API is accessible:

1. Open developer tools (F12 on Windows, or Option-Cmd-I on Mac)
2. Click the Console tab
3. Paste the following and press Enter:
   'documentPictureInPicture' in window

Here's what the result means:

• true: The API is available. The culprit is likely a pop-up blocker, a hardware acceleration setting, or a domain-specific block. Continue to Step 3.
• false: The API isn't available. Either the browser is too old (go back to Step 1), or an organization-level policy is blocking it (skip to Step 5).
   

Step 3: Check pop-up settings

In some configurations, Picture-in-Picture windows can be affected by pop-up blocking rules. Here's what to check:

1. Open the browser's site settings for the UserTesting test page
2. Make sure Pop-ups and redirects is set to Allow
    

Keep in mind that some browser extensions and corporate security tools block pop-ups separately from the browser's own settings. If that's the case, the participant's IT team may need to add an exception for the UserTesting domain.
 

Step 4: Check hardware acceleration

Picture-in-Picture requires hardware acceleration to render properly. To verify it's enabled:

1. Open chrome://settings/system (or edge://settings/system)
2. Confirm that Use hardware acceleration when available is enabled

If this setting is greyed out or controlled by org policy, move on to Step 5 for the relevant policy entry.
 

Step 5: Check Chrome enterprise policy

On managed corporate devices, Chrome's behavior is often controlled centrally by IT. To see what policies are in effect:

1. Open chrome://policy (or edge://policy)
2. Share a screenshot with UserTesting Support, or pass it along to your participant's IT team for review

The policies most relevant to the floating taskbar are:

If any of these are blocking the feature, the IT team will need to adjust the policy or add an exception for the UserTesting test domain.

Step 6: Resolve update errors

Contact UserTesting Support

If the steps above don't resolve the issue, contact UserTesting support and include:

• Browser and version
• Operating system
• The result of the 'documentPictureInPicture' in window check from Step 2
• A screenshot of chrome://policy (Step 5)
• Any of the steps above already attempted
   

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