What can professors see on Canvas during a quiz?
Professors see what you do inside Canvas, with a time on each item, but not your screen or other tabs.
- The quiz log: viewed, answered, stopped viewing and resumed, each with a time, when the course turns it on.
- When each attempt started and how long it took, the course pages you opened, and your activity time.
- In New Quizzes, your IP address can show for staff with the right permission.
- They cannot see your screen, other tabs, webcam, screenshots or Chrome extensions.
- Leaving the quiz page is logged, but the entry does not say where you went.
Our pickCanvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question, inside the quiz page. No second tab and no window switch, so the log has no page switch to show.
Add to Chrome - freeWhat professors can and cannot see on Canvas: the full list
The table puts every record Instructure documents for instructors and admins next to the things students worry about most. Each item on the left is checked against Instructure's own guides, linked below. Nothing on the right appears in any of them.
| Professors CAN see | Professors CANNOT see |
|---|---|
| Quiz log events: viewed, answered, stopped viewing and resumed, each with a time. Classic Quizzes, only when the course opts in. | Your screen: Canvas does not capture, stream or record it. |
| New Quizzes log: start, finish, each event, elapsed time, and moments of stopping and resuming. | Your other tabs: no tab title, no URL, no site and no content from them. |
| Page views: the course access report lists the content you viewed, how many times, and when you last viewed it. | Your webcam: not without a proctoring tool such as Honorlock or Respondus Monitor. |
| Last Activity and Total Activity for each student on the People page. | Screenshots: there is no screenshot event in the log. |
| Submission times and attempt durations: when each attempt started and finished, and how long it took. | Installed extensions: a web page cannot list them, and Canvas has no extension report. |
| IP address in New Quizzes, for roles with the view IP address permission. Multi-session details only with Detect Multiple Sessions on, and only for admins. | Your browsing history and the apps you use outside Canvas. |
The left column is activity inside Canvas. The right column is everything outside the quiz page, and Canvas has no view into it. Instructure adds a note to both quiz logs: quiz logs should not be used to validate academic integrity or identify occurrences of cheating.
The one thing that shows up: leaving the quiz page
Of everything in the left column, only one entry is about what you did outside Canvas: the moment the quiz page stopped being in front. Instructure's quiz log guide says "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), and "Resumed" displays when the student returns. The New Quizzes log has the same idea: it includes moments of stopping and resuming the quiz.
The entry has a time and no destination. The Canvas API stores the pair as page_blurred and page_focused, and the quiz submission events reference shows both with "event_data": null. A professor can see that you left for 40 seconds. The log cannot say whether those 40 seconds went to a search, a text message or ChatGPT.
But the gap itself is there. Looking an answer up in a second tab, or in a chatbot in another window, is exactly what writes it. Our guide to what Canvas records when you switch tabs covers split screen, phones and the "15 second rule" forum claim, and what the Canvas quiz log shows a professor walks through a sample log line by line.
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.
What each Canvas record shows a professor
The Classic quiz log
The instructor opens it from the quiz: Options, Show Student Quiz Results, the student's name, then View Log. Instructure's guide says it shows the start time of the attempt and a status and timestamp for each action, for the most recent attempt by default.
Three limits matter. "Quiz Log Auditing is currently a course opt-in feature", so some courses have no log at all. "Quiz logs are only retained for six months." And because of autosave, the log "does not include an accurate log for Fill-in-Multiple-Blanks, Matching, Multiple Answers, and Multiple Dropdown questions", which can show as answered at the start of the attempt.
The New Quizzes log
In New Quizzes, the instructor opens the Moderate page. It lists each student's attempts, the score and the time for each attempt, and a View Log link. The log shows when the student began and completed the quiz, each event and the time elapsed. Expanding an event, the instructor "may be able to view details about the student's computer".
Submission times and attempt durations
For Classic Quizzes, the Moderate Quiz page has a Time column: completed attempts show the time it took for the student to complete the quiz. New Quizzes shows the time for each attempt on its Moderate page. So a professor can see that a 20-question quiz took four minutes.
The course access report
From the People page, the instructor can open a student's access report. It shows the content the user has viewed, the number of times, the number of times the user participated, and the last time the user viewed the content. This is the record behind "my professor knew I never opened the reading".
Last Activity and Total Activity
The People page shows two columns for every student. Last Activity is the date and time of the student's most recent interaction in the course. Total Activity shows how long users interact within a course and "counts page navigation only".
Can professors see your screen or webcam on Canvas?
No. Canvas has no screen view and does not turn on your camera. None of the Instructure guides for the quiz log, the Moderate page, the access report or the People page describes a screen capture, a screen recording or video. What an instructor opens is a list of events with times. So does Canvas record your screen? Not on its own.
Screen and webcam recording come from a proctoring tool a school adds to a quiz. With Respondus Monitor, "students use a webcam to record themselves during an online exam". Honorlock can collect "a webcam video recording that includes your desktop activity and audio recording". Both show themselves before the exam: Monitor runs a webcam check, and Honorlock can ask for a photo and a room scan.
Can Canvas see your IP address?
Sometimes, in New Quizzes, and only for some people. Instructure documents three places where an IP address comes into play:
- The activity log. Only admins and instructors with the View the Client IP address permission can view the Client IP address. Instructure's developer docs describe the New Quizzes - view IP address permission as allowing users "to view IP address information on the activity log".
- Multi-session details. For multi-session activity to be recorded, the Detect Multiple Sessions setting must be enabled by the instructor, and the details (client IP, browser session ID, browser and operating system) can only be viewed by admins. With that setting on, students receive a notification if they attempt to continue a quiz in a different session.
- The IP filter. The same New Quizzes settings page lets an instructor filter IP addresses by entering address ranges, to limit where the quiz can be taken from.
The Classic quiz log guide lists the start time and the four statuses, with no IP field. An IP address points to a network and a rough location. It says nothing about your screen, your tabs or the apps you had open.
Can Canvas see screenshots?
No. There is no screenshot event. The Classic log has four statuses (viewed, answered, stopped viewing, resumed), and the API lists event types such as question_answered and question_flagged. None of them records a screenshot, and a screenshot is not an answer, a view or a page switch.
One case can still leave a trace. If your screenshot tool opens its own window and you click into it, the quiz page loses focus, and that can write "Stopped viewing" like any other program. Inside LockDown Browser, "printing and screen capture functions are disabled".
Can professors see your Chrome extensions?
No. A web page cannot ask Chrome which extensions are installed, and Canvas is a web page. Chrome runs extension scripts in an isolated world, which Google defines as "a private execution environment that isn't accessible to the page or other extensions". A page can only see elements an extension adds to that page, and Canvas gives instructors no extension report. The full answer, including school-managed Chromebooks, is in our guide to whether Canvas detects Chrome extensions.
Honorlock is the exception. Its extension can disable extensions after consent from the user for the duration of the exam, and it does not turn them back on afterwards.
Canvas tracking outside a quiz
Outside a quiz, Canvas tracks activity inside Canvas only: Last Activity, Total Activity and the access report. A professor can tell whether you opened the module, how often, and when you were last in the course. None of these records looks at other websites, tabs or apps.
What proctoring tools add
A proctoring tool changes the answer, because it controls or records the computer while the exam runs, instead of logging focus loss after the fact.
| Canvas alone | LockDown Browser + Monitor | Honorlock | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webcam | No | Respondus Monitor records the student | Webcam video with desktop activity, plus audio |
| Screen | No | Screen capture is disabled for the student | Desktop activity in the webcam recording |
| Other tabs and apps | Logs Stopped viewing and Resumed | Task switching and other applications are blocked | Can close tabs, block new ones and detect window resizing |
| Extensions | Cannot list them | A separate browser, not Chrome | Can disable them for the exam, with consent |
Respondus LockDown Browser is a separate browser. Its product page says it "prevents access to other applications" and that "task switching" is disabled, along with copy and paste. Because it is not Chrome, no Chrome extension runs inside it, ours included.
Honorlock runs as a Chrome extension. It can close open tabs or block new ones when its BrowserGuard setting is on, and it can detect window resizing. Its FAQ adds that it can require a single screen.
How to tell if a Canvas quiz is proctored
You find out before the first question. A LockDown Browser quiz cannot be accessed with other browsers, so you have to open it in LockDown Browser itself. Respondus Monitor starts with a webcam check. Honorlock asks you to add its Chrome extension, agree to its terms and grant permissions. If the quiz opens in a normal Chrome tab with none of these steps, the records above are all your professor gets.
Answer inside the quiz page, not in another tab
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. 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.
One setup tip: the extension opens its consent page in a new tab when you install it, and checkout opens in a new tab if you subscribe. Do both before a quiz, not during one.
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
- Once I publish a quiz, how do I use the Moderate Quiz page? (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 use the People page in a course as an instructor? (Instructure Community), 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
Common questions
What can professors see on Canvas during a quiz?
Activity inside Canvas, with timestamps: the quiz log, attempt times and durations, page views, and Last Activity and Total Activity. In New Quizzes, staff with the right permission can see your IP address. They do not see your screen, your other tabs, your webcam or your extensions.
Can professors see your screen on Canvas?
No. Canvas has no screen view; its records are lists of events and times. A professor sees your screen only when the quiz uses a proctoring tool that records it, such as Honorlock.
Does Canvas record your screen or your webcam?
Canvas on its own records neither. Recording comes from proctoring tools such as Respondus Monitor or Honorlock, and they show themselves before the exam with a webcam check or a room scan.
Can Canvas see your IP address?
In New Quizzes, for some people. Admins and roles with the view IP address permission see it in the activity log, and with Detect Multiple Sessions on, admins see IP, browser and operating system per session. An IP address shows the network, not your screen.
Can professors see if you screenshot on Canvas?
No. Canvas has no screenshot event. If a screenshot tool takes focus away from the browser, the log can write Stopped viewing, as for any other program. LockDown Browser disables screen capture.
Can teachers see if I switch tabs on Canvas?
They can see that you left the quiz page, not where you went. The log writes Stopped viewing and Resumed, each with a time, and no tab title, URL or app name.
Does Canvas notify the professor when you leave the quiz page?
Instructure documents no alert. The instructor opens the log by hand, one student at a time. A page switch shows up only if someone opens that log.
Does Canvas track you when you are not in a quiz?
Only inside Canvas: Last Activity, Total Activity and the pages and files you viewed. Canvas does not see other websites or apps.
How to cheat on Canvas without being detected?
No tool is invisible, and AI answers can be wrong. What Canvas does record is leaving the quiz page for a second tab or app. Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question, inside the quiz page, so there is no page switch for the log to record. On a proctored exam the rules are different, because the proctoring tool controls the browser.
Answers inside Canvas, without leaving the page
Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question you are on. You can start free.
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