Does Canvas record you? Screen, camera and what is logged
No. Canvas itself does not record your screen, your camera or your microphone. It keeps a log of events with times.
- Screen and camera access need a browser permission prompt, and Canvas asks for neither during a quiz.
- What Canvas logs: quiz events (viewed, answered, Stopped viewing, Resumed), page views and activity time.
- Recording comes from separate proctoring tools your school adds: Respondus Monitor, Honorlock or Proctorio.
- Each one shows itself before the first question, with a webcam check, an install prompt or a pre-check.
Our pickOn Canvas quizzes with no proctor, Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question, inside the quiz page. No second tab, so there is no page switch for the quiz log to record.
Add to Chrome - freeDoes Canvas record your screen?
No. Canvas is a web page, and a web page can only capture your screen through the Screen Capture API. MDN notes that "the user will still be prompted for permission to use them". Canvas asks for nothing like that during a quiz.
The Canvas quiz log has no screen image in it. When the quiz page loses focus, the Canvas API stores the event as page_blurred with "event_data": null, so the log never names the app or site you went to. Screenshots work the same way: the full answer to can Canvas see if you screenshot goes device by device.
Can Canvas see your camera?
No. A page needs your permission before it can turn on your camera or microphone (getUserMedia), and Canvas has no built-in webcam or microphone recording. If a prompt for your camera appears when you start a quiz, it comes from a proctoring tool your school installed, not from Canvas.
Does Canvas record you during a quiz?
Not on video. Here is what a normal Canvas quiz keeps, next to what a proctored exam can add when the school turns it on:
| What | Canvas quiz alone | With a proctoring tool |
|---|---|---|
| Webcam video and audio | Not recorded | Recorded when the instructor turns it on |
| Your screen | Not recorded | Recorded when screen recording is on |
| Leaving the quiz page | "Stopped viewing", then "Resumed", with times | Tabs blocked or closed, task switching disabled |
| Which tab or app you opened | Not recorded | Sites visited, when web traffic recording is on |
| Your Chrome extensions | A web page cannot list them | Honorlock and Proctorio can turn them off |
What Canvas itself logs
On a Classic Quiz, the quiz log has four statuses, each with a time: "Viewed (and possibly read) a question", "Answered a question", "Stopped viewing the Canvas quiz-taking page" and "Resumed" (Instructure quiz log guide). Instructure says Quiz Log Auditing "is currently a course opt-in feature", logs are kept for six months, and they "are not intended to validate academic integrity or identify cheating for a quiz".
New Quizzes keeps its own log on the Moderate page, which "includes moments of stopping and resuming the quiz". Outside quizzes, your teacher can see Last Activity, total activity time and the Access Report: what you viewed and how often. Your IP address, browser and operating system per session are in multi-session details, which only admins can view unless a school grants the permission. Line by line, see the Canvas quiz log, explained.
What turns recording on
Recording comes from separate tools that a school connects to Canvas. They are not part of Canvas, and each is set exam by exam.
Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor
LockDown Browser is a separate browser that locks the computer, and on its own it records no video: "If your instructor doesn't require the use of a webcam, the exam will immediately begin" (Respondus). Respondus Monitor is the add-on that records. The instructor selects "Require Respondus Monitor for this exam to record students via webcam, screen, or both" (instructor quick start guide), and screen recording needs both products (Respondus Support). Videos are kept for up to 5 years. More in does LockDown Browser record you.
Honorlock
Honorlock runs as a Chrome extension. Its FAQ says: "if requested by your organization, we will collect a webcam video recording that includes your desktop activity and audio recording." The instructor picks Record Webcam, Record Screen and Record Web Traffic for each exam (Using Honorlock with Canvas), and it "cannot record the desktop without explicit consent from the user each time exam recording is initialized". Its privacy statement says a flashing red indicator on the extension shows when recording is on. More in Honorlock: what it records and blocks.
Proctorio
Proctorio's FAQ says it "only records during an exam and if the video/audio/screen recording settings are enabled by the exam administrator". Before you start, its Before You Begin page shows "all recording and lockdown settings enabled by the exam administrator" (Proctorio pre-checks). More in Proctorio on Canvas.
How to tell if your quiz is recorded
You find out before the first question. Look for these signs:
- LockDown Browser. A LockDown quiz will not open in normal Chrome: you get a message to use LockDown Browser (Respondus).
- Respondus Monitor. A Startup Sequence with a webcam check, then "the camera icon and text which says 'Webcam Recording'" at the top right (student guide, Respondus Support).
- Honorlock. You start the exam from Honorlock in the course menu, install its extension, then take a face photo, an ID photo and a room scan and share your screen (Honorlock test taker guide).
- Proctorio. The quiz title ends with "(Remotely Proctored)" or "(Secure Browser)" (Proctorio exam start errors), and a pre-check lists the recording settings.
If the quiz questions open in normal Chrome with none of these steps, no proctoring tool is recording you. Canvas still keeps its quiz log, and that log can record when you leave the page. More on that in can Canvas see if you switch tabs.
Where Canvas Quiz Solver fits
Canvas Quiz Solver is a Chrome extension for Canvas quizzes with no proctor. It reads the question on the page and puts the answer right below it, inside the Canvas quiz page, so you do not open a second tab or switch windows, and there is no page switch for the quiz log to record. It asks for no camera and no screen. A web page cannot list the Chrome extensions you have installed (Chrome runs extension code in an isolated world). It works on Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes. It does not run inside LockDown Browser, and Honorlock and Proctorio can turn extensions off, so it is not for proctored exams. AI answers can be wrong, so read each one. You can start free, then it is $14.99 a month or $48.99 every 4 months.
Sources we checked
- How do I view a quiz log for a student?, How do I use the Moderate page in New Quizzes?, How do I view the course access report for an individual user? and How do I view multi-session details in New Quizzes as an admin? (Instructure Community), checked 2026-10-26
- Quiz Submission Events (Canvas LMS REST API), checked 2026-10-26
- Screen Capture API and MediaDevices: getUserMedia() (MDN Web Docs), checked 2026-10-26
- LockDown Browser, Respondus Monitor, Using LockDown Browser with a Webcam: The Student Experience, Student Quick Start Guide and Instructor Quick Start Guide for Canvas (Respondus), checked 2026-10-26
- Respondus Support: screen recording option, I don't see my image during the exam and how long video is kept, checked 2026-10-26
- Faculty and student FAQ and Test taker privacy statement (Honorlock), and Using Honorlock with Canvas, Honorlock extension permissions and functions and How to use Honorlock (test takers) (Honorlock Help Center), checked 2026-10-26
- Frequently asked questions (Proctorio), and Completing the Exam Pre-Checks and Exam Start Errors (Proctorio Help Center), checked 2026-10-26
- Content scripts (Chrome for Developers), checked 2026-10-26
Common questions
Does Canvas record your screen?
No. Canvas is a web page, and a web page can only capture your screen after a browser permission prompt that you accept. Canvas asks for none during a quiz. Its quiz log stores events and times, not images of your screen.
Can Canvas see your camera?
No. Camera access also needs a browser permission prompt, and Canvas has no built-in webcam or microphone recording. If a quiz asks for your camera, a proctoring tool your school added is asking, such as Respondus Monitor, Honorlock or Proctorio.
Does Canvas record you during a quiz?
Not on video. Canvas records events: which questions you viewed, when you answered, and when the quiz page lost focus and got it back. Video recording comes only from a proctoring tool, and it shows itself before the first question.
How do I know if my Canvas quiz is recorded?
Look for a step before the first question: a LockDown Browser launch, a webcam check, an install prompt for the Honorlock or Proctorio extension, or a pre-check that asks for your camera or screen. With none of these, Canvas keeps only its quiz log.
Can teachers see what you do on your computer during a Canvas quiz?
Not through Canvas. A teacher sees the quiz log, your answers and course activity such as the Access Report. Your screen, other tabs and other apps are not in it. A proctoring tool can record more when the school turns it on.
Does Canvas Quiz Solver record anything?
No. It reads the question on the Canvas quiz page and shows the answer right below it. It does not ask for your camera or your screen. It is for quizzes with no proctor, and it does not run inside LockDown Browser.
Answers inside Canvas, without leaving the page
On Canvas quizzes with no proctor, the answer appears right below the question. No camera, no screen share. You can start free.
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