Can Pearson MyLab detect cheating or switching tabs?
Pearson MyLab can detect cheating patterns, not your screen. On homework it records your score on each question, gives every student new values, and Pearson tells instructors to compare your time with the class. Pearson documents no tab, paste or screenshot log on homework. On locked-down tests, the Pearson LockDown Browser blocks other windows and apps, and Respondus Monitor can add the webcam.
- The Gradebook updates each time you complete a question.
- Pearson suggests instructors compare your time with the class median.
- Switching tabs and screenshots: not documented for homework.
- Copy and paste is a normal feature of the current player.
- ChatGPT: Pearson says its Plagiarism Check cannot detect it.
- LockDown Browser locks the test; Respondus Monitor records with the webcam.
Our pickCanvas Quiz Solver now works on Pearson MyLab homework (beta). The answer shows under the question, in the same tab: no second tab, no screenshot. You type the answer into MyLab yourself. It stays off on tests, quizzes, LockDown Browser and Respondus.
Can Pearson MyLab detect cheating? The short answer
Pearson does not document a cheating detector that watches your screen on MyLab homework. What it has is a record of your results, questions with your own values, and advice to instructors about what to look for. Pearson's own guide says online programs "do not prevent copying, but they lessen copying" and give instructors "the ability to track student work" (Methods to Mitigate Cheating).
Tests are different. Instructors can lock down a MyLab test or quiz with the Pearson LockDown Browser, and some add Respondus Monitor webcam proctoring. Each part below links its Pearson source.
What your instructor can see in MyLab
Your instructor sees results, not your screen. Pearson's student help and its guides for instructors describe these:
| Record or setting | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Gradebook | Your score, updated "each time you complete a question" (Do homework). The player "checks your answers and reports the results to you and to your instructor" (Answer in the MyLab Player). |
| Time compared with the class | Pearson's advice for spotting chatbot use: if the median time on a problem is three minutes and a student keeps solving it in thirty seconds, "it might indicate they're not really spending any time solving the problem" (Pearson on MyLab and cheating). |
| Algorithmic variations | "For each student and attempt it will generate a new set of variables", so a shared answer stands out as wrong. |
| Show Work | When turned on, the evidence of how you reached the answer. |
| Gradebook and performance analytics | Pearson points instructors there to find "phantom students", extra accounts used to fish for answers. |
From Pearson's MyLab student help and its guides for instructors (sources below).
The pattern that gets noticed is a mismatch: homework done much faster than the class, or homework scores far above your test scores.
Can Pearson MyLab detect switching tabs?
Pearson does not document it. None of the MyLab help pages we read, for students or instructors, lists a tab, focus or window log for homework. That does not prove there is none: any web page can notice when it loses focus, so assume it could exist.
What MyLab does keep is results and time, and Pearson tells instructors to compare times. On a locked-down test the question goes away: "you cannot open other browser windows or use any other application while you are taking the test or quiz" (Take locked-down tests and quizzes).
Can Pearson MyLab see if you copy and paste?
Copy and paste is a normal part of the MyLab player. Pearson's help says that if your course uses the latest player, "you can copy and paste text in a question", with Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V (Tips on using players). Pearson documents no paste log.
Copying the question into a chatbot is a different matter: the math is drawn by the player, so fractions, roots and exponents do not copy cleanly, and the time you spend away shows up as time.
Can Pearson tell if you use ChatGPT or AI?
Not directly, by Pearson's own account. Its MyLab guide says Plagiarism Check "is currently unable to detect if an answer is being produced by ChatGPT", and suggests instructors compare student performance with the class average instead (Pearson on MyLab and cheating). Most MyLab answers are numbers or expressions, so there is no essay for an AI checker to read.
What Pearson sees is the result: your answers, your scores and how long the work took. A run of fast, correct answers on hard problems is the pattern its guide describes.
LockDown Browser, recording and proctoring on MyLab
MyLab uses its own Pearson LockDown Browser for locked-down tests and quizzes (Take locked-down tests and quizzes):
- You see it first. The "Are you ready to start?" page shows a warning icon and a Check Your Browser button when a test needs it (Take tests and quizzes).
- It is a separate browser. You install it once; computer labs have it already. You cannot take a locked-down test on a tablet.
- Help is off. Learning aids are not available on a locked-down test, and the built-in calculator works only if your instructor allows it.
- Webcam proctoring is an extra. Respondus says "the testing tools in Pearson MyLab offer seamless integration with the Respondus Monitor proctoring system" (Respondus webinar listing). Pearson's own guide notes that student monitoring needs a separate license (Pearson on MyLab and cheating).
So does MyLab record you? Not on homework, as far as Pearson documents. When your instructor adds Respondus Monitor to a test, it records you with the webcam. For what LockDown Browser records in general, read does LockDown Browser record you.
What this means for an extension
Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer under the question, inside the MyLab page. It works on MyLab Math, MyLab Statistics and MathXL homework, in beta, and it is off on every test and quiz.
How it works on Pearson MyLab, in 3 steps:
- Add Canvas Quiz Solver to Chrome on your laptop. It is the same extension Canvas students use.
- Open your MyLab homework, click the extension icon and tap "Turn on for Pearson". You do this once, and you allow the Chrome prompt.
- Read the answer card under the question, then type the answer into the MyLab answer box, or pick the choice, and click Check Answer yourself.
Off on MyLab tests and quizzes and on LockDown Browser and Respondus pages. It types nothing into MyLab: you enter every answer.
- No second tab. The answer is in the tab you are already in.
- No screenshots. It reads the question on the page: numbers, fractions, exponents, choices and drop-down blanks.
- You type every answer. It does not type into MyLab. You enter the answer and click Check Answer yourself.
- Your record is still your record. Scores and time are recorded as for every student. Use it at your own pace.
Graphing questions, StatCrunch and Mastering are not supported yet. Answers come from AI and can be wrong. It is the same account as on Canvas: free answers to try, then $14.99 a month or $48.99 for a 4-month semester. More on the Pearson MyLab answers page, and the methods students try in how to cheat on Pearson MyLab.
Sources we checked
- How does MyLab help deter and reduce student cheating? (Pearson, PDF), checked 2026-10-25
- Methods to Mitigate Cheating (Pearson, PDF for instructors, January 2024), checked 2026-10-25
- Answer in the MyLab Player (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Do homework (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Tips on using players (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Take tests and quizzes and Take locked-down tests and quizzes (Pearson MyLab student help), checked 2026-10-25
- Pearson MyLab + Respondus Monitor webinar (University of Alabama calendar, quoting Respondus), checked 2026-10-25
Common questions
Can Pearson MyLab detect cheating?
It can flag patterns, not your screen. MyLab records your score on each question in the instructor's Gradebook, gives each student new values, and Pearson tells instructors to compare a student's time with the class. On locked-down tests, the Pearson LockDown Browser blocks other windows and apps.
Does Pearson MyLab track tabs?
None of the Pearson help pages we read documents a tab log for homework. Any web page can notice when it loses focus, so it could exist. On a locked-down test you cannot open other browser windows at all.
Can Pearson MyLab see if you copy and paste?
Pearson's help says you can copy and paste text in a question in the current player, and it documents no paste log. Pasted text still has to be a right answer, and your time and answers are recorded.
Can Pearson tell if you use ChatGPT?
Pearson says its Plagiarism Check "is currently unable to detect if an answer is being produced by ChatGPT". It tells instructors to compare how long students take instead.
Does MyMathLab record you?
Not on homework, as far as Pearson documents. A test can be locked down with the Pearson LockDown Browser, and Respondus says MyLab testing tools work with Respondus Monitor, which records you with the webcam.
Can Pearson monitor your screen?
On homework, Pearson documents no screen monitoring. On a locked-down test, LockDown Browser takes over: you cannot open other windows or use other apps, and learning aids are off.
Does Pearson MyLab use LockDown Browser?
Yes, when your instructor locks down a test or quiz. You install the Pearson LockDown Browser once, and the test start page shows a Check Your Browser button. You cannot take a locked-down test on a tablet.
MyLab answers, without a second tab
The answer shows under the question you are on. You type it, you submit it. Start free.