Does Canvas detect tab switching?
Partly. During a Classic Quiz, Canvas writes a log entry when the quiz page loses focus and another entry when you come back. The words in the log are "Stopped viewing the Canvas quiz-taking page" and "Resumed", with a timestamp on each one. The log does not say which tab, which site, or which app you moved to, and it does not show your screen.
The exact event Canvas records
Every Classic Quiz attempt has a quiz log. An instructor opens it from the student's submission and sees a list of events with timestamps. 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:
- Stopped viewing the Canvas quiz-taking page - the quiz page lost focus at this time.
- Resumed - the quiz page got focus back at this time.
That is the whole signal. A pair of timestamps, plus the gap between them. The log stores no label for the place your attention went.
What triggers "Stopped viewing"
The entry is written when the quiz page loses focus in the browser. A web page can see that it moved to the background through standard browser events such as visibilitychange, and Canvas records it. Many everyday actions produce the same entry:
- Opening or clicking a different browser tab.
- Clicking a different application window, such as a message app or a PDF.
- A notification that takes focus away from the browser.
- Locking the screen or letting the machine sleep.
- A dropped or unstable internet connection.
All five look the same in the log. The event says the page stopped being in front. It does not say why.
What the log does not show
The quiz log carries event names and timestamps and nothing else. There is no tab title, no URL, no application name, no screenshot, and no keystroke record in it. A professor reading the log sees that you left the page for 40 seconds. The destination is not in the data.
Instructure is direct about the limits of the feature. Its own documentation states that quiz logs are not intended to validate academic integrity or identify cheating.
Does New Quizzes log tab switches?
New Quizzes keeps a log too. The instructor opens the Moderate page and selects View Log, which shows when the attempt started and finished and lists each event in the attempt. The same focus limitation applies: the events are about the quiz page, not about the rest of your computer.
New Quizzes adds one thing Classic Quizzes does not have. If an attempt runs across more than one device or browser, the session details can flag it. Those details include the client IP address, the browser, and the operating system, and Instructure notes that they can only be viewed by admins unless an admin grants the New Quizzes IP address permission to teachers.
Outside the quiz, Canvas still tracks course activity. 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 that reaches outside Canvas either.
What if you switched tabs by accident?
Accidental focus loss is common, and it writes the same entry as a deliberate one. A calendar alert, a video call ringing, a laptop lid closing, or Wi-Fi dropping in a dorm all produce "Stopped viewing" followed by "Resumed".
If an instructor asks you about a gap, describe what happened at that timestamp. The log records no destination. Instructure's own note that the log is not meant to identify cheating is a fair thing to point at in that conversation.
If you want fewer of these entries, close other applications before you start, turn on do not disturb, and use a stable connection.
What LockDown Browser changes
A proctoring browser answers this question differently. Respondus LockDown Browser is a separate browser that blocks extensions and task switching, and its product page lists the full set of controls it applies.
In that environment there is no tab to switch to. If your school also uses Respondus Monitor, the attempt is recorded through your webcam and microphone and flagged events go to the instructor for review. Check the assignment page before the quiz so you know which of the two situations you are in.
Answer without leaving the page
Canvas Quiz Solver is a Chrome extension for Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes. It adds a button next to the question you are on and puts an answer inside the same Canvas page, so the quiz page keeps focus and you do not open a second tab to look something up. A page cannot list the extensions in your browser, because content scripts run in an isolated world. You get 5 free answers, then it is $4.99 per month, and it does not run inside LockDown Browser.
Sources
- How do I view a quiz log for a student? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-10
- Canvas, Quiz Logs (University of Illinois Answers), checked 2026-09-10
- Canvas Quiz Logs (Seattle Pacific University), checked 2026-09-10
- How do I use the Moderate page in New Quizzes? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-10
- How do I view multi-session details in New Quizzes as an admin? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-10
- How do I view the course access report for an individual user? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-09-10
- Document: visibilitychange event (MDN Web Docs), checked 2026-09-10
- Content scripts (Chrome for Developers), checked 2026-09-10
- LockDown Browser (Respondus), checked 2026-09-10
- Respondus Monitor (Respondus), checked 2026-09-10
Common questions
Can teachers see what tab you switched to?
No. The quiz log records that the quiz page stopped being in front and when it resumed. It stores no tab title, no URL, and no application name. A teacher sees a gap with timestamps, not the page you opened.
Does Canvas track tabs when you are not in a quiz?
No. Outside a quiz, Canvas records course activity: the People page shows Last Activity and Total Activity, and the access report shows what content you viewed and when. None of those entries look at other tabs in your browser.
How long does Canvas keep quiz logs?
Quiz logs are kept for six months.
Can a professor prove cheating from the quiz log?
The log alone is thin evidence. It shows timing and focus loss with no destination attached, and Instructure states that quiz logs are not intended to validate academic integrity or identify cheating. Instructors usually combine it with other information.
Does closing the laptop count as leaving?
It can. Closing the lid, locking the screen, or letting the machine sleep can make the quiz page lose focus, so the log writes Stopped viewing and then Resumed when you return. A dropped connection can do the same thing.
Answers inside Canvas, without leaving the page
Canvas Quiz Solver reads the question you are on and puts an answer right below it.
Add to Chrome - free