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Does LockDown Browser record you?

Written by the Canvas Quiz Solver team. Last verified: 2026-09-25

Short answer

No. LockDown Browser alone records no video. Respondus Monitor, its webcam add-on, does the recording.

  • LockDown Browser locks the computer: no other apps, sites, copy, paste, printing or screenshots until you submit.
  • Respondus Monitor records your webcam, your screen, or both, as the instructor chooses.
  • A webcam exam starts with a webcam check, then shows a Webcam Recording icon at the top right.
  • Monitor flags events for the instructor, who can play back the video after the quiz.
  • LockDown Browser is set quiz by quiz. A quiz that opens in normal Chrome does not use it.

Our pickCanvas Quiz Solver does not run inside LockDown Browser. On Canvas quizzes that open in normal Chrome, it puts the answer right below each question, so you never open a second tab.

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LockDown Browser alone does not record you

Respondus sells two products that students often mix up. LockDown Browser is "a custom browser that locks down the testing environment". Respondus Monitor is the proctoring add-on: "Students use a webcam to record themselves during an online exam."

Respondus's instructor quick start guide for Canvas draws the line: the instructor must select "Require Respondus Monitor for this exam to record students via webcam, screen, or both". Screen recording "is only available for exams that use both LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor". Without Monitor, Respondus's student walkthrough says: "If your instructor doesn't require the use of a webcam, the exam will immediately begin."

No video does not mean no record. If you leave before submitting, you must "enter a reason for exiting the exam early", and the instructor can view it. On a Mac with System Integrity Protection off, LockDown Browser ends the exam and tells the instructor why.

  LockDown Browser alone With Respondus Monitor
Webcam video No Yes, unless the instructor picks Screen Only
Screen recording No When the instructor picks Webcam + Screen or Screen Only
Before the first question It may ask you to close blocked programs, then the quiz opens A Startup Sequence: terms of use, a webcam and microphone check, and any steps the instructor adds
During the quiz Full screen and locked Locked, plus a Webcam Recording icon at the top right
After the quiz Early-exit reasons and some security messages in the dashboard Video, flagged events and a Review Priority for each student

How to know if Respondus LockDown Browser is recording

You can tell before the first question. Four checks cover every case Respondus documents.

  1. Open the quiz in normal Chrome. A LockDown quiz "cannot be accessed with other browsers": you get a message that you must use LockDown Browser, with a download link or a Launch LockDown Browser button. On a Chromebook the page says "Respondus LockDown Browser Required". If the questions open in Chrome as usual, it is not a LockDown Browser quiz, and Respondus records nothing on it.
  2. Read the quiz page. Respondus says the download link "is typically found on the quiz summary page". It also tells instructors to set up a non-graded practice quiz first, so a practice quiz that needs LockDown Browser is a good hint the graded one does too.
  3. Watch the steps before the first question. A Monitor exam starts with a Startup Sequence. The student quick start guide says you "review and agree to the Terms of Use", then "The Webcam Check will confirm that your webcam and microphone are working properly." The instructor may add an ID check or "a brief video of your examination setting".
  4. Look at the top right. During a Monitor exam you will see "the camera icon and text which says 'Webcam Recording.'" You will not see your own image, so the video does not distract you.

One setting skips the webcam. With Screen Only, "students are prompted to allow their screen to be recorded" at the start, so the signal is a prompt about your screen, not a webcam check.

At what point does Respondus start recording?

With the Startup Sequence, before the first question. In the instructor's review, "Thumbnails show the Startup Sequence and exam session", so your webcam check, ID check and room video can be played back. It ends at submission: "When the exam is submitted for grading, the webcam will stop recording".

Is my Canvas quiz proctored at all?

LockDown Browser is set quiz by quiz in the LockDown Browser Dashboard, and Monitor is a second setting on top. Plenty of Canvas quizzes use neither. Honorlock differs: it works through a Chrome extension, so a quiz that asks you to add Honorlock is proctored even in Chrome. Our guide to what professors can see on Canvas when a quiz is proctored compares the tools.

If the quiz questions opened in normal Chrome, the quiz has no LockDown Browser and no Respondus recording. Then Canvas is the only one watching, and its quiz log records when the quiz page loses focus. Canvas Quiz Solver 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. A web page cannot list the Chrome extensions you have installed. It works on Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes, and you can start free.

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What LockDown Browser blocks

From the LockDown Browser product page:

  • "Assessments are displayed full-screen and cannot be minimized".
  • "Browser menu and toolbar options are removed, except for Back, Forward, Refresh and Stop".
  • It "prevents access to other applications including messaging, screen-sharing, virtual machines, and remote desktops".
  • "Printing and screen capture functions are disabled".
  • "Copying and pasting anything to or from an assessment is prevented".
  • "Right-click menu options, function keys, keyboard shortcuts and task switching are disabled".
  • "An assessment cannot be exited until the student submits it for grading".

Students also cannot "visit other websites during an online exam", and LockDown Browser may ask you to close blocked programs, such as screen capture or instant messaging, before the quiz starts. The instructor can loosen a few rules: the quick start guide lists settings to allow "a list of specified web domains (websites, like ebooks or other resources)", a calculator or printing.

Does LockDown Browser block Chrome extensions?

In practice, yes, because LockDown Browser is not Chrome. Respondus describes it as "a custom browser" and "a native application", not a browser extension. Extensions you add to Chrome belong to Chrome, and a LockDown quiz cannot be opened in Chrome, so your extensions are not part of the exam.

On a Chromebook, Respondus installs LockDown Browser as a Chrome extension from your school's link, with Monitor support. Either way, Canvas Quiz Solver does not run inside LockDown Browser. For Canvas itself, read whether Canvas can detect Chrome extensions.

Respondus Monitor flags: what gets flagged

Respondus says "Suspicious behaviors are automatically flagged for instructors, and each exam session is ranked in terms of overall risk." Its computer vision "analyzes webcam videos and screen recordings": "if students leave their computer during an online assessment, the computer vision system will 'flag' those portions of the video".

Flag or event What Respondus says triggers it
Missing It cannot find the face it saw at the start. Light or the room can cause this: "The students may not be missing".
Partial Missing (Strict setting) "when portions of the face have moved outside of the video frame, or when both eyes of the test taker aren't visible"
Handheld device "a device is detected in a student's hand", "even when only a small part is visible"
Video interruption A short internet drop leaves a gap and a note for the instructor
In-exam warnings Your face cannot be detected, the camera should tilt down, or the room is too dark or too bright

The instructor sets the sensitivity: Strict, Standard (the default) or Relaxed, and can change it "after students have completed their exams", which updates the Review Priority. The handheld device flag is on automatically and can be removed afterwards, for example when calculators are allowed.

A flag is a pointer, not a verdict. Respondus's Canvas guide says Monitor "is intended to be a deterrent, so it's up to the instructor to determine the level of review warranted". Results reach the instructor in "less than 10 minutes" on average.

Does Respondus tell you if you get flagged?

Not the flags. During the exam, Monitor "will warn students when their face cannot be detected by the webcam", and prompts you to tilt the camera down or fix bad lighting. The flags and the Review Priority go to the instructor's proctoring results. The Respondus pages we checked describe no flag report for students.

Does Respondus Monitor track eye movement?

Respondus documents face detection, not gaze tracking. The one rule about eyes is the Strict setting: a Partial Missing flag when "both eyes of the test taker aren't visible". Respondus suggests Relaxed for open-book exams, "since students often turn away from the webcam to look at notes or books".

What the instructor sees afterwards

Results sit in the LockDown Browser Dashboard inside the Canvas course. The instructor quick start guide describes the review:

  1. The instructor selects Class Results for the quiz.
  2. "A roster of the students in the course is shown, along with the date, time, duration, review priority, and grade (if available)."
  3. Expanding a student shows thumbnails of the Startup Sequence and the exam session. A click plays the video from that point.

If screen recording was on, the screen video appears below the webcam video. Respondus keeps "the webcam video, the screen recording video, flagged events, in-exam warnings, exam milestones (eg. when questions were answered)" in sync. A second camera can add another angle.

"Only the instructor will have rights to view the videos, or someone with higher login credentials (e.g., LMS administrator)". "Videos of exam sessions are stored for a total of 5 years."

Do professors actually check Respondus LockDown?

Respondus leaves it to each instructor, and Review Priority puts the riskiest sessions first. Since a May 2025 update, the Reviewed status "now updates automatically when the results are viewed by the instructor", and administrators can report "the percentage of proctoring sessions that have been reviewed by instructors". You cannot know whether your video will be opened.

Canvas quiz log vs LockDown Browser

A proctored Canvas quiz can leave two separate records. The Canvas quiz log belongs to Instructure: on a Classic Quiz, "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)". The Canvas API stores it with "event_data": null, so the log never names where you went. New Quizzes has a View Log on the Moderate page.

  Canvas quiz log LockDown Browser alone With Respondus Monitor
Made by Instructure Respondus Respondus
Where the instructor opens it View Log (Classic) or the Moderate page (New Quizzes) LockDown Browser Dashboard LockDown Browser Dashboard, Class Results
What it records Page events such as answered, Stopped viewing and Resumed Blocks, plus early-exit reasons and some security messages Video, flags, warnings, milestones and Review Priority
Video of you or your screen None None Webcam, screen or both
Kept for Six months Not stated Up to 5 years

Instructure adds that Quiz Log Auditing "is currently a course opt-in feature" and that quiz logs "are not intended to validate academic integrity or identify cheating for a quiz". Inside LockDown Browser, task switching is disabled, so the usual causes of a Stopped viewing entry, a new tab or another program, are blocked.

On a quiz without LockDown Browser, the quiz log is most of what the instructor has. See a sample Canvas quiz log, event by event, and what Canvas records when you switch tabs.

How to cheat using LockDown Browser or bypass it

Here is a straight answer: this page gives no steps to bypass LockDown Browser or Respondus Monitor. It shows what Respondus says stands in the way.

  • Respondus lists what a native LockDown Browser stops in its comparison with locked browser extensions: virtual machines, remote desktop, screen sharing, "Extended desktop, multiple monitor, and screencast exploits", background apps, apps on a timer, programmable mouse buttons and "Browser cache and JavaScript injection exploits".
  • It asks you to close blocked programs first, and on a Mac it ends the exam when System Integrity Protection is off.
  • With Monitor on, your webcam, and your screen if the instructor chose it, is on video from the Startup Sequence to submission. A phone in your hand raises the Handheld device flag.
  • The video is ranked by Review Priority and stored for up to 5 years.

If a quiz is proctored, prepare, and ask the instructor what is allowed: a calculator, an ebook site or a spreadsheet can be switched on in the settings. If the quiz opens in normal Chrome, the rules are Canvas's own: see how to cheat on Canvas without leaving the page and everything Canvas can and cannot see during a quiz.

Answers on Canvas quizzes that do not use LockDown Browser

Check the quiz first: open it in normal Chrome. If Canvas asks for LockDown Browser, Canvas Quiz Solver cannot help on that quiz. If the quiz opens as usual, the answer can sit right on 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. 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, in Chrome on a Mac, a Windows PC or a Chromebook that allows extensions. You can start free, then it costs $9.99 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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Sources we checked

Common questions

Does LockDown Browser record you?

Not on its own. LockDown Browser locks your computer during the quiz but records no video. Respondus Monitor, the add-on, records your webcam, your screen or both, as the instructor chooses.

How do you know if Respondus LockDown Browser is recording?

A Monitor exam starts with terms of use and a webcam and microphone check, then shows a Webcam Recording icon at the top right. With Screen Only, you are asked to allow screen recording. If the quiz starts with none of that, Respondus is not recording.

At what point does Respondus start recording?

With the Startup Sequence, before the first question, so ID and room checks are on video too. Respondus says the webcam stops recording when the exam is submitted for grading.

Does Respondus tell you if you get flagged?

Not the flags. During the exam, Monitor warns you when it cannot see your face or when the camera or lighting needs fixing. The flags go to the instructor's proctoring results, not to you.

Do professors actually check Respondus LockDown?

It is up to each instructor. Respondus calls Monitor a deterrent. Review Priority ranks the riskiest sessions first, the Reviewed status updates when results are opened, and videos are stored for up to 5 years.

Does LockDown Browser block Chrome extensions?

On Windows and Mac, LockDown Browser is its own app, not Chrome, and a LockDown quiz cannot be opened in Chrome, so your Chrome extensions are not part of the exam. Canvas Quiz Solver does not run inside LockDown Browser.

Does Respondus Monitor record your screen?

Only if the instructor turns it on. Monitor can record Webcam + Screen or Screen Only on Windows, Mac and Chromebook, but not on an iPad.

How to bypass LockDown Browser or cheat using it?

This guide gives no bypass steps. Respondus says LockDown Browser stops virtual machines, remote desktops, screen sharing, extra monitors and background apps, and Monitor records and flags the rest. On a Canvas quiz that opens in normal Chrome, Canvas Quiz Solver shows the answer below each question.

Does Canvas Quiz Solver work with LockDown Browser?

No. Canvas Quiz Solver does not run inside LockDown Browser. It works on Canvas quizzes that open in normal Chrome, Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes, where it puts the answer right below each question. You can start free.

Related guides: Everything Canvas can and cannot see during a quiz · What professors can see on Canvas during a quiz · Does Canvas detect tab switching? · What the Canvas quiz log shows a professor · Does Canvas detect Chrome extensions? · What "Stopped viewing" means · How to cheat on Canvas without leaving the page · All Canvas guides · Honorlock: what it records and blocks · Proctorio on Canvas

Answers inside Canvas, without leaving the page

On Canvas quizzes that open in normal Chrome, Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question you are on, so there is no second window. You can start free.

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