Does Canvas detect tab switching?

Can Canvas see when you switch tabs? The exact event it records

Yes, Canvas can see when you switch tabs during a quiz, but only as a moment when the quiz page stopped being in front. When Quiz Log Auditing is on for the course, each Classic Quiz attempt has a log, and the log starts when the student begins the quiz. Instructure documents four kinds of entry: viewed a question, answered a question, stopped viewing the quiz-taking page, and resumed.

Two of those four are the tab-switching ones. Instructure defines them like this:

• Stopped viewing the Canvas quiz-taking page - "displays when a student navigates away from the quiz (closes the browser tab, opens a new browser tab, or navigates to a different program)".
• Resumed - "displays when the student has returned".

The Canvas API shows the same pair in raw form. The quiz submission events reference lists them as page_blurred and page_focused, and both come with "event_data": null. In plain words, each event has a type and a time, and there is no field for where you went.

That is the whole signal: a pair of timestamps and the gap between them. The log stores no label for the place your attention went.

What a Canvas quiz log looks like

A quiz log is a list of events with times, read top to bottom. The example below is built from the four event names in Instructure's guide. The times are made up, and a real log can look different on screen, but it holds the same kind of information: an event and a time, nothing more.

Illustration - not a real student log

An instructor can read this stretch as "left the page for 45 seconds, then answered". The log cannot say whether those 45 seconds went to a search, a text message or a calendar alert. For a longer walkthrough of every event type, read a sample quiz log in our quiz log guide. To see the lines for your own tab switches, run the Canvas tab switch test: a mock quiz that writes the log live, in your browser.

Logs can also mislead in the other direction. Instructure says that because of autosave the log "does not include an accurate log for Fill-in-Multiple-Blanks, Matching, Multiple Answers, and Multiple Dropdown questions", and those questions can show as answered at the start of the attempt. Timing alone is weak evidence.

What triggers "Stopped viewing"

Instructure names three triggers: closing the browser tab, opening a new browser tab, and navigating to a different program. In browser terms, the quiz page stops being the page you are using. A web page can tell that it moved to the background through standard browser events such as visibilitychange, which fires when a user switches tabs, minimizes or closes the browser, or on a phone switches from the browser to another app.

• Opening a new tab, or clicking a tab that is already open.
• Clicking a different application window, such as a message app or a PDF.
• Closing the quiz tab.
• Minimizing the browser.

Some everyday events can have the same effect, such as a notification that takes focus away from the browser, or locking the screen. Instructure does not list those, so treat them as "can", not "will".

Every one of these looks the same in the log. The event says the page stopped being in front. It does not say why.

What is the 15 second rule on Canvas?

The 15 second rule is a forum claim, not a Canvas rule. Instructure's quiz log guide defines "Stopped viewing" by what the student does (closing a tab, opening a tab, moving to another program), and it gives no time threshold at all.

The number comes from the Instructure Community forum. In a thread about whether "Stopped viewing" can reveal cheating, a user quotes an older answer from a "Community Champion". That answer says the entry can occur after "clicking out of the quiz (such as on another browser tab or window) for more than 15 seconds", or after being inactive within Canvas "for more than 30 seconds". It is a community answer. It is not in Instructure's documentation, and we found no Instructure page that confirms either number.

Some sites say the rule comes from Instructure's instructor guide. We read that guide (last updated 2026-09-04) and it does not contain a 15 second or 30 second figure. The API reference for quiz submission events does not mention a delay either.

The safe reading is to plan as if any focus change can be logged, however short. A rule you cannot find in the documentation is not a rule to rely on in a meeting with your instructor.

Does split screen or a second monitor count?

Split screen or a second monitor counts only when the quiz page loses focus. The API calls the event page_blurred, and in browser terms a blur event fires when something has lost focus. Focus moves when you click or type in another window, so clicking the other half of a split screen, or a window on a second monitor, is the same to the browser as switching to another program.

A window that is only visible does not take focus, and moving the pointer over another screen does not move focus by itself; a click does. Canvas has no documented check for how many monitors are connected, and Instructure's trigger list names tabs and programs only.

Proctoring tools are built to close that gap. Honorlock says it can "detect window resizing" and can "require test takers to use only a single screen", and LockDown Browser disables task switching. The proctoring section below compares them.

For every device (Mac, Windows, Chromebook, iPad) and what Canvas can and cannot tell, read the full guide: can Canvas detect split screen?

Split screen usually comes up because someone is copying from another window into an answer box. That is a separate signal with its own rules, explained in our guide to copying from another window and what Canvas records about copy and paste.

Can Canvas detect switching apps on your phone?

In a mobile browser, it can: leaving the browser for another app takes the quiz page out of view, and Instructure's trigger list includes navigating to a different program. MDN's page on visibilitychange says the event fires on mobile when the user "switches from the browser to a different app".

In the Canvas Student app, the rule is less documented. Students can take Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes in the app on iOS and Android, but Instructure documents no separate logging rule for the app. Assume the same log applies: an attempt is an attempt, whatever device it runs on.

A second device is a different question. The quiz log records events on the quiz page itself, so a phone on the desk is not part of it. Proctoring is where a phone can show up: Honorlock says it can detect cell phones and other devices, and it can record webcam video that includes your desktop activity, plus audio.

Opening the same quiz on a phone and a laptop is a third case. In New Quizzes, if the instructor turned on Detect Multiple Sessions, the student receives a notification when they try to continue the quiz in a different session, and the session details are recorded for admins to view.

Can Canvas see your tabs or the sites you visit?

No. Canvas cannot see your tabs, their titles or the sites in them. The quiz log carries event names and timestamps and nothing else: no tab title, no URL, no application name, no screenshot and no keystroke record. A professor reading the log sees that you left the page for 40 seconds. The destination is not in the data, and the API event behind it has no data field to hold one.

Instructure is direct about what the feature is for. Its own documentation states that quiz logs are not intended to validate academic integrity or identify cheating.

Does incognito or clearing your history change anything?

No. The signal is a page event written while the quiz is open, not your browsing history and not your cookies. A private window or a cleared history does not remove an entry from the quiz log, and it does not add anything to it either.

Does Canvas track tabs when you are not in a quiz?

Can Canvas track tabs when no quiz is open? No. Outside a quiz, Canvas records activity inside Canvas itself. The People page lists Last Activity and Total Activity for each student, and the per-student course access report lists content, times viewed, times participated and last viewed.

None of those records look at other tabs in your browser. They show which course pages, files and assignments you opened in Canvas, and when.

What can teachers actually see on Canvas?

Teachers see Canvas activity with timestamps, not your screen or your other tabs. The table sums up each record, what it holds, and who can open it.

Three details matter. First, Instructure calls Quiz Log Auditing "currently a course opt-in feature", so whether a Classic log exists depends on the course. Second, "quiz logs are only retained for six months". Third, Instructure's guide describes the log as something the instructor opens by hand for one student at a time; it describes no alert when a student leaves the page.

For the full list, including extensions and copy and paste, see everything Canvas can and cannot see during a quiz.

Does New Quizzes log tab switches?

Yes. New Quizzes has its own log, opened from the Moderate page with View Log. It shows when the attempt started and finished, each event, the elapsed time, and "moments of stopping and resuming the quiz". Like the Classic log, it names no destination, and it carries the same note that it should not be used to validate academic integrity.

The multi-session part is conditional. Multi-session activity is recorded only when the instructor enables Detect Multiple Sessions, and with that setting on, students receive a notification if they try to continue a quiz in a different session. The details (client IP, browser session ID, browser and operating system) can only be viewed by admins.

IP addresses have one more route. An admin can give a role the New Quizzes - view IP address permission, which lets that role view IP addresses on the activity log. None of this reaches outside Canvas: an IP address says where the attempt came from, not which other tabs were open.

Can Canvas tell if you switch tabs by accident?

No. Canvas cannot tell an accidental switch from a deliberate one, because both write the same "Stopped viewing" and "Resumed" pair. A calendar alert, a video call ringing, or a laptop lid closing can all produce the entry.

If an instructor asks you about a gap, describe what happened at that timestamp. The log records no destination. Instructure's own note that quiz logs are not intended to identify cheating is a fair thing to point at in that conversation.

Notifications and a locked screen can also write the entry, so an entry alone is weak evidence. To avoid accidental entries, turn on do not disturb and close apps that show pop-up alerts before you start the quiz.

Answer without leaving the page

Canvas Quiz Solver is a Chrome extension that puts the answer right below the question, inside the Canvas quiz page. You do not open a second tab, you do not copy the question into ChatGPT, and you do not switch windows, so there is no page switch for the quiz log to record. It works on Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes. A web page cannot list the Chrome extensions you have installed. You can start free, then it costs $14.99 a month. AI answers can be wrong, so check them against your course material.

It does not run inside LockDown Browser, and Honorlock can turn Chrome extensions off during a proctored exam.

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Honorlock and LockDown Browser: what changes

A proctoring tool changes the answer, because it controls the browser during the exam instead of only logging it. The Canvas quiz log records focus loss after the fact. LockDown Browser and Honorlock act on the computer while the exam runs.

Respondus LockDown Browser is a separate browser. Its product page says "right-click menu options, function keys, keyboard shortcuts and task switching are disabled", that copying and pasting "to or from an assessment is prevented", and that it "prevents access to other applications including messaging, screen-sharing, virtual machines, and remote desktops". In that environment there is no tab to switch to. If your school also uses Respondus Monitor, students use a webcam to record themselves, and flagged events are available to the instructor for review.

Honorlock uses a Chrome extension, and its FAQ also describes a desktop Honorlock Application that some schools add. The extension can "close already open tabs or block new tabs" when its BrowserGuard setting is on, it prevents copy and paste, and it can "detect window resizing". It can also disable other extensions after the student consents, for the duration of the exam, and it does not turn them back on afterwards. Its faculty and student FAQ adds that it can require a single screen and records webcam video that includes desktop activity, with audio.

Check the quiz page or the syllabus before the quiz so you know which of these situations you are in. A plain Canvas quiz, a LockDown Browser quiz and an Honorlock quiz see very different things.

Sources we checked

• How do I view a quiz log for a student? (Instructure Community, updated 2026-09-04), checked 2026-09-25
• Quiz Submission Events (Canvas LMS REST API), checked 2026-09-25
• How do I use the Moderate page in New Quizzes? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-25
• How do I view multi-session details in New Quizzes as an admin? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-25
• How do I manage settings for a quiz in New Quizzes? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-25
• New Quizzes - view IP address permission (Instructure Developer Docs), checked 2026-09-25
• How do I view the course access report for an individual user? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-25
• How do I take a quiz in the Canvas app on my iOS device? and on my Android device? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-25
• Can "Stopped viewing the Canvas quiz-taking page" in the quiz log reveal cheating? (Instructure Community forum thread, not documentation), checked 2026-09-25
• Document: visibilitychange event and Window: blur event (MDN Web Docs), checked 2026-09-25
• Content scripts (Chrome for Developers), checked 2026-09-25
• LockDown Browser (Respondus), checked 2026-09-25
• Respondus Monitor (Respondus), checked 2026-09-25
• Honorlock extension permissions and functions (Honorlock), checked 2026-09-25
• Faculty and student FAQ (Honorlock), checked 2026-09-25
• Cell phone detection (Honorlock), checked 2026-09-25

Common questions