Lockdown browser for schools: How to secure on-screen exams (2026 guide)

TL;DR

A lockdown browser is software installed on a student's device that restricts activity during an on-screen exam, blocking other applications, web browsers, screenshots, copy-paste, and external network requests so the student can only access the exam itself.

What a lockdown browser actually does

A lockdown browser is software installed on a student's device that restricts activity during an on-screen exam. It blocks other applications, web browsers, copy-paste, screenshots, printing, and external network requests, so the student can only access the exam itself.

That is it in one sentence. The rest is detail.

Schools use lockdown browsers because a typical laptop or tablet is a poor environment for an exam by default. Browser tabs, chat apps, AI chatbots, search engines, shared documents, screenshot tools: all of them are one tap away. A lockdown browser closes those doors for the duration of the assessment and reopens them when the student submits.

Why schools use lockdown browsers

Three reasons matter to international schools, and they look different for different stakeholders.

1. For coordinators, it is about exam integrity on high-stakes assessments: MYP eAssessment mocks, Cambridge on-screen components, DP pilot exams, and internal final exams. Lockdown is the first line of defence.

2. For teachers, it is about fairness. A student who cannot use AI chatbots is at a disadvantage against one who can. Lockdown evens that out. The assessment becomes about what the student knows, not about what their device allows.

3. For IT teams, it is about compliance. Some curriculum bodies specify secure delivery requirements for on-screen assessment. Schools running those assessments need a lockdown solution that meets the published standard.

Lockdown does not catch everything. A student with a second phone under the desk is not defeated by browser-level lockdown. But it handles the 90% of cheating vectors that happen on the exam device, which is where most cheating actually happens.

What a good lockdown browser should block

When you evaluate any lockdown browser, confirm it blocks every item on this list:

• All other applications: no switching to Word, Safari, Chrome, Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, or anything else

• Copy, paste, cut, and clipboard access

• Screenshots and screen recording (macOS and Windows)

• Printing: local and cloud

• Network access outside the exam server, so no Googling, no ChatGPT, no shared Google Docs

• Virtual machines and remote-desktop sessions

• Keyboard shortcuts that escape the browser (Cmd+Tab, Alt+Tab, Cmd+Q, Alt+F4)

• Split-screen, picture-in-picture, and multi-window modes

• External monitors and second displays

If a lockdown browser leaves any of these gaps, students will find them. Test every item on this list against any vendor you are considering, on the devices your students actually use.

Beyond lockdown: What audit logs tell you

Lockdown browsers are the first line of defence. Audit logs are the second, and they cover what lockdown cannot.

Even with a perfect lockdown, questions come up after an exam:

• Why did one student finish a 90-minute exam in 18 minutes?

• Why did five students submit at the exact same second?

• Did an answer get pasted in from somewhere else?

• Did a student attempt to exit lockdown mode mid-exam?

A good assessment platform records every student action, with timestamps, device metadata, and input patterns. The log is where you find the answer.

What to look for:

• Unrealistic finish times. If a student completes a complex paper in a fraction of the expected time, it is worth a look. Sometimes the explanation is genuine. Sometimes it is not.

• Synchronised submissions. Five students submitting within the same 10-second window on a difficult paper suggests coordination worth investigating.

• Paste-pattern anomalies. A single paste event producing a 400-word answer is structurally different from typing. Good platforms flag this.

• Lockdown-exit attempts. Any attempt to exit lockdown or switch applications should be logged and visible to the invigilator in real time.

None of these are smoking guns on their own. They are signals. The point is not to "catch" students. It is to give teachers and coordinators the information they need to have an honest conversation when something looks off.

How AssessPrep supports lockdown and audit logs

We have built tools that work during the exam and after it is done.

Here is what you will find inside:

• Real-time monitoring: keep an eye on who is in the exam, track participation, and spot absentees, all in one place.

• Detailed activity logs: see every student's exam journey. You get timestamps, device details, and every key action they took.

• Post-exam forensics: use the logs to track patterns and behaviours that do not quite add up. These tools do not just flag problems, they help spark better conversations.

Read how AssessPrep helps you monitor your assessments with confidence.

What to look for in the logs. A few helpful signals show up in the data:

• Fast finishes: if someone speeds through a complex test far too quickly, it is worth a closer look. Maybe they did not engage with the material. Maybe it is something else.

• Same-time submissions: if a group turns in their exams at the exact same moment, it could be coordinated. The logs help you see it clearly.

• Copy/paste signals: track typing bursts and paste actions where available. That tells you whether an answer was typed out or pasted in from somewhere else.

It is not about catching students. It is about protecting fairness, so every student has the chance to succeed on their own merit.

How teachers and lockdown software work together

Good tech sets the guardrails. Teachers bring the judgement, the fairness, and the follow-through.

With AssessPrep, you get both:

• A strong lockdown browser to stop cheating at the source

• A clear audit trail to guide follow-ups

• Smart analytics to support your decisions

Over 800 schools use AssessPrep to make sure every assessment is fair, honest, and trusted by everyone involved.

Run secure on-screen exams on AssessPrep

AssessPrep includes lockdown as a built-in feature. A real-time invigilator dashboard during the exam, full activity logs after. Used by 800+ IB, Cambridge, and Edexcel schools across 85+ countries.

Book a demo

Key takeaways

• A lockdown browser restricts the student device during an on-screen exam: it blocks other applications, browsers, copy-paste, screenshots, printing, and external network access.

• Schools use lockdown browsers on high-stakes assessments (MYP eAssessment mocks, Cambridge on-screen, DP pilot exams, internal finals) to remove the 90% of cheating vectors that happen on the exam device.

• A good lockdown browser blocks every item on the published checklist (apps, clipboard, screenshots, print, off-server network, VMs, escape shortcuts, split-screen, external displays). Test every item on real student devices before purchase.

• Lockdown alone is not enough. Audit logs cover what lockdown cannot, surfacing fast finishes, synchronised submissions, paste-pattern anomalies, and lockdown-exit attempts after the fact.

• AssessPrep combines lockdown with a real-time invigilator dashboard and detailed activity logs, used by 800+ IB, Cambridge, and Edexcel schools across 85+ countries.