How to Reduce Cheating in Online Tests: What Proctoring Can and Cannot Do

By Pooja Goenka · Published 2026-10-07 · Updated 2026-10-14

To reduce cheating in an online test, combine a paper that is hard to copy, a locked-down browser session with a server-side limit on leaving the exam tab, an optional camera check that only raises flags, and a person who reviews every flag before anyone is accused. No online test is cheat-proof, but stacking these makes cheating harder to pull off and likely to be noticed, so most students decide it is not worth the risk.

I go through each control below, including where it fails, and end with the settings I would switch on first.

A disclosure: we build an exam platform, LogicWiz Exams, and I describe its settings where they are relevant. The advice applies to any system.

How do students cheat in online tests?

In a hall, the invigilator controls the room. Online, you control only the screen the student chooses to show you. The usual leaks are easy to list: a second tab with search or a chat app, a phone beside the laptop, a second monitor, a friend in the room, a screenshot of the paper passed to someone else, and, with rare high-stakes tests, someone else sitting the exam entirely.

No single tool closes all of these. A sensible plan stacks small controls so that a student who beats one still trips another, and so that the institute can show what it did.

How do you design a test that is harder to cheat on?

Before any software, look at the paper itself, which costs nothing to change. The UK's Quality Assurance Agency puts assessment design at the centre of its academic integrity guidance for the same reason. Tests that ask for recall of one fact are easy to share. Tests that use fresh numbers, short scenarios and reasoning are harder to share and quicker for you to defend afterwards.

• Shuffle the question order, so two neighbours do not meet the same question at the same moment. LogicWiz Exams can do this per exam, and the order stays the same for one student if the page is refreshed.
• Keep the time per question tight enough that searching costs more time than answering.
• Use a question bank larger than the paper, so no two papers are the same.
• Where marks matter, add a short viva or a written follow-up for the top scorers.
• Ask for working, not just the final answer. A handwritten solution photographed and marked by a teacher is much harder to copy from a search result than a single option; how to mark handwritten answers in an online test shows the workflow.

Which browser controls stop copying during an online test?

A browser can restrict a surprising amount without a camera. In LogicWiz Exams you can switch these on per exam:

• Full screen required. The exam runs full screen, and leaving full screen is recorded.
• A tab-switch limit. The count is kept on the server, so refreshing the page does not reset it. When a student passes the limit, the attempt is submitted automatically. Of everything here, this is the only rule that ends an attempt.
• Blocking developer-tool shortcuts, such as F12, and logging every attempt.
• Disabling copy, paste, cut and the right-click menu, with each attempt logged.
• Idle detection, which flags a long stretch with no keyboard or mouse input.
• Network change and multi-monitor flags. A change in connection type, for example Wi-Fi to a mobile hotspot, or a change in screen size, is flagged.

These stop casual copying and make a deliberate attempt visible. They do not stop a student who uses a second device, because the exam page cannot see it.

Does a webcam stop cheating in online exams?

Not on its own. A camera adds a signal for a few kinds of cheating and misses others, so it works best as one input to a human review. Camera checks are optional in LogicWiz Exams and chosen per exam. When they are on, the student agrees in a consent dialog first, and the camera has to stay on. The checks run on the student's own device. No image or video leaves it, and only flag events are logged. The flags are:

• the camera is lost, muted or covered;
• no face is visible for a while;
• a second face is in frame, which is marked critical;
• optionally, long looks away from the screen.

The camera rules warn the student and never end the attempt, because face detection makes mistakes. People look down to think, sit near a window, share a small room with family, or have a poor webcam. A rule that terminates an exam on a false alarm creates a worse problem than the cheating it was meant to stop. The research points the same way: a 2022 study in Frontiers in Education found students with darker skin tones were significantly more likely to be flagged for instructor review, and the University of British Columbia's guidance warns that automated tools can falsely identify, or miss, behaviour depending on skin colour, headwear or glasses. Gaze tracking in particular is the most prone to false alarms, which is why I would leave it off unless there is a specific need.

A camera also cannot see what is off frame. It will not catch a phone below the laptop, a person standing behind the screen or a candidate who has someone else answering by voice. I treat it as one more signal to weigh alongside the others.

What should you do when the system flags a student?

A flag tells you which attempt to look at. In LogicWiz Exams the staff view shows each attempt with a risk score, any gap in the connection heartbeat, and the full timeline of events, so a reviewer can see what happened and when. With that context in front of you, you can talk to the student about specific events instead of saying "the system flagged you".

Write the policy before the first test:

1. Tell students in advance which controls are on and why.
2. Decide what each flag leads to. A single tab switch may deserve a warning. A critical flag plus a score far above the student's usual may deserve a resit under observation.
3. Let the student explain. Slow internet, a notification or a family member walking in are common and innocent.
4. Keep the evidence trail. It protects the honest students as much as the institute.

What should students be told about camera data?

Students are more willing to accept a camera rule when they know what happens to the data. Say plainly what is collected, where it is processed and how long it is kept. In LogicWiz Exams the camera analysis stays on the device, only flag events are logged, and those events are purged after 30 days. Whatever system you use, ask the vendor the same three questions: what leaves the device, where is it stored, and when is it deleted. In India, students' personal data is covered by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the DPDP Rules notified in November 2025, so those answers matter legally as well as for trust.

Which anti-cheating settings should you turn on first?

For a regular test series, I would start with shuffled questions, full screen, a tab-switch limit that suits your paper length, and copy and paste blocking. Add the camera checks only for high-stakes exams, with consent, and without gaze tracking. Review every flagged attempt by hand for the first few tests so you learn what normal looks like for your students.

If your institute also issues certificates, think about them alongside the exam. A proctored result is more credible when the certificate can be checked online, as described in how to make certificates verifiable. Recruiters and students can then confirm it on their own, using the steps in how to check if a certificate is real. If you are choosing a platform, the comparison in best online exam software for coaching institutes lists what to ask for, and online test platform alternatives by institute size helps if you are moving from another tool.

Common questions

Can online exams be made cheat-proof?

No. You can make cheating harder and easier to notice by combining a well-designed test, session controls, optional camera flags and human review. Anyone who promises that cheating is impossible is overselling.

Does an exam proctoring camera record students?

It depends on the system. In LogicWiz Exams the camera checks run on the student's own device, no image or video leaves it, and only flag events are logged. Always check what any platform records and stores.

What happens when a student switches tabs during an online test?

With a tab-switch limit on, each switch is counted on the server. Once the student passes the limit, the attempt is submitted automatically. Below the limit, the student can be warned.

Should I use gaze tracking?

Only if you have a clear reason. It flags long looks away from the screen, but it produces more false alarms than the other checks. Most institutes are better served by tab-switch limits, full screen and a human review of flags.

What should I do when a student is flagged?

Look at the timeline, then talk to the student. Treat a flag as a reason to review, never as proof. Apply the policy you published before the exam, and keep a record.

Can students cheat in an online test with a phone?

Yes, and the exam page cannot see a second device. A camera may catch a student looking down repeatedly, but it will not see a phone below the laptop. Tight timing, questions that need reasoning rather than recall, and a follow-up viva for unusual scores do more against a phone than any browser setting.

Is AI proctoring accurate?

Not accurate enough to act on without a person. Face detection misreads poor lighting, glasses, headwear and people who look away to think, and a 2022 study found students with darker skin tones were flagged more often. Treat AI flags as a list of attempts to review. Short answers on exams and certificates are also on our quick answers page.