Require Safe Exam Browser on a Quiz
Safe Exam Browser (SEB) is a free app that locks a student's computer to the quiz while they work: no other apps, no other websites, no copying out. It is an option on a quiz, like cheating detection, and it is off by default. A quiz without it runs in any browser exactly as before, and practice is never affected.
Two places to switch it on
| Where | Effect |
|---|---|
| On the quiz: Build exam (and Split into exams), tick Require Safe Exam Browser | Every assignment of this quiz opens only in Safe Exam Browser. The Exam Library shows a Safe Exam Browser badge on it, and its Assign form shows the option locked on |
| On one assignment: the Require Safe Exam Browser box when assigning (reusable quizzes, custom exams, adaptive quizzes, adaptive sequences, study-plan and workspace assignments) | Only that assignment needs it |
The assign box also shows a Check my device link to share with students before the quiz (see below).
What students do
Before the quiz. Share the Check my device link (/safe-exam/check/). It offers
the download for the student's device and runs a two-minute practice inside Safe Exam
Browser, including a microphone check. Nothing is saved and no quiz starts.
Taking it. The student opens the quiz from their dashboard as usual and clicks Open Safe Exam Browser. Safe Exam Browser opens the quiz already signed in: no second login, and no code. Codes belong to Testing Center sittings, not quizzes.
Inside the quiz. Only the quiz and its result can be opened; the site menu is hidden.
At the end. The result page says the quiz is submitted and closes Safe Exam Browser by itself after five seconds. The student's normal browser, where they clicked Open Safe Exam Browser, then shows the same result. Keep it open stops the countdown; Exit Safe Exam Browser closes the app at once. A finished quiz is never offered again.
If the student opened Safe Exam Browser some other way (from the app's own icon, then signing in), there is no normal-browser page waiting, so it stays open on the result until they select Exit Safe Exam Browser.
Safe Exam Browser runs on Windows 10 and 11, Mac, and iPad or iPhone. It does not run on Chromebooks, Android or Linux; students on those devices see a plain message saying so.
Following along: Secure-browser attempts
The Secure-browser attempts and waivers link next to the option opens a live view of your students on quizzes that require Safe Exam Browser. It shows where each student is (not opened yet, opening, didn't open, in Safe Exam Browser, submitted) and refreshes itself every 30 seconds. Students who need help are listed first.
Answers are never lost
If a student's Safe Exam Browser fails part-way through, answers that reach us from outside it are still kept and counted in Saved outside the secure browser, so you can see it happened.
To let one student finish in a normal browser, use Waive for this candidate with a short reason. It applies to that one attempt and is recorded with your name.
Common questions
A student says the quiz asks for a code. Quizzes never use codes. The student has opened Safe Exam Browser by hand rather than with the Open Safe Exam Browser button. Ask them to quit Safe Exam Browser and click the button on the quiz page in their normal browser.
Nothing happens when a student clicks Open Safe Exam Browser. After a few seconds the page offers the download. Once the app is installed, clicking the button again opens the quiz.
Can I switch it off for everyone? Untick the option on the next assignment. For one student on a live quiz, use a waiver.