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Lockdown Browser

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Lockdown Browser, alternatively LockDown Browser, is a custom web browser that locks down a student's computer for examination purposes and marketed as a tool to "prevent cheating during online exams." It's often integrated with learning management systems (LMS), such as Canvas, Schoology, etcetera.[1] The first version was released in 2016,[2] and it grew in relevance during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Lockdown Browser
Basic Information
Release Year 2016
Product Type Software, Web browser
In Production yes
Official Website https://web.respondus.com/he/lockdownbrowser/

Lockdown Browser integrates with Respondus Monitor. The former is mainly responsible for preventing students from accessing their computers' other functionalities during exams, and the latter is mainly responsible for monitoring the students during examinations. The access restrictions include disabling of the browser toolbar, Windows features (such as print screen, accessing the computer's tool bar), the ability to exit the application, the ability to power off the computer, keyboard functions, and more.[1]

Consumer impact summary

User freedom

In terms of freedom, aside from browser restrictions, the decision for students to opt out of LockDown Browser lies not with Respondus but varies between institutions. The following is the Opt-Out policy from Respondus Monitor's student Terms of Use:

[1] d. OPT-OUT. If you cease to agree with these Terms, or the privacy and security policy below at some point in the future, you may opt-out by contacting your Institution. However, opting-out may affect how you will need to complete your course, and your Institution makes no representations regarding how it will affect your relevant course or any ramifications from opt-out (e.g., you may not be able to complete the requirements of such course). As such, we encourage you to speak with your instructor before opting out.[4]

User privacy

According the Respondus's Privacy Policy,[5] LockDown Browser accesses private information depending on institutional policies, such as using facial recognition, "internet and network activity information," screen captures, and more. Researchers such as Balash et al. call software like Lockdown Browser to be "invasive monitoring tools" and surveyed privacy concerns among students[6] Further, in Ogletree v. Cleveland State University, the U.S. District Court concluded the following:

Based on consideration of these factors, individually and collectively, the Court concludes that Mr. Ogletree’s privacy interest in his home outweighs Cleveland State’s interests in scanning his room. Accordingly, the Court determines that Cleveland State’s practice of conducting room scans is unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.[7]

In response to the ruling, Respondus gave the following statement as it updated its own privacy policy and terms of use:

Respondus has taken several steps to help universities strengthen their online testing policies. First, it has added the following paragraph to the boilerplate text that universities often use for their portion of the Student Terms of Use for Respondus Monitor.

If your institution or instructor permits you to use Respondus Monitor at a non-university location, you agree to select a location that meets any and all university guidelines. If the location you choose is a home or personal environment, you agree to allow your activity and surrounding workspace to be recorded by video and audio and then analyzed by the Respondus Monitor system.

Similar text has been added to the Terms of Use section that is between Respondus and the student:

If you are using Respondus Monitor at your home or in a personal area, you agree to allow your activity and surrounding workspace area to be recorded by video and audio and then to be analyzed by the Respondus Monitor system.[8]

Others criticize that the LockDown Browser creates stress for students and fails to create academic integrity among privacy issues.[9][10][11][12][13][14]

Business model

Respondus primarily markets Lockdown Browser towards educational institutions as their direct customers.[15] The end users for Lockdown Browser are the students, and the surrounding monitoring tools are primarily used by test proctors, whether they be hired proctors, instructors, teaching assistants, or otherwise. However, this has led to the concern that end users are not involved in the decision process in software that may negatively impact their computer (see incidents section).

Market control

This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.

Incidents

Causing computer instability on Microsoft Windows

As of writing, no news source had covered these incidents; only technical forums, institutional IT help, and posts from Respondus Support Team had mentioned LockDown Browser damaging student's computer throughout the years. Due to these issues, LockDown Browser had been informally criticized as "malware." Some of the damages and issues include:

  • Inability to power-off one's computer; Computer freezing requiring hard computer restart.[21][22][23][24][25]
  • Requiring the disabling of anti-virus software, firewall software, and other components of Windows Defender to install or use LockDown Browser.[26][27]

Veiga, et al. v. Respondus Inc., settlement (2023)

Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) requires any private companies collecting biometric data from people to obtain informed written consent first, and the lawsuit claimed that Respondus violated BIPA through Respondus Monitor, though Respondus denied the allegations. In the settlement for Veiga, et al. v. Respondus Inc., Respondus agreed to resolve the class action lawsuit with $6.25 Million USD; anyone who took an exam with Respondus Monitor while in Illinois between 11 November 2015 and 2 June 2023 was eligible. The claims deadline was 30 August 2023.[28][29][30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "LockDown Browser Resources". Respondus. 17 Jun 2026. Archived from the original on 2 Oct 2024. Retrieved 17 Jun 2026.
  2. ↑ "LockDown Browser Version History". Respondus. 19 Nov 2020. Archived from the original on 11 Sep 2024. Retrieved 11 Sep 2024.
  3. ↑ "Google Trend - Searches on LockDown Browser". Google. 31 May 2026. Archived from the original on 20 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  4. ↑ "Terms of Use - Respondus Monitor (Student)". Respondus. 15 Jan 2026. Archived from the original on 23 Jan 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  5. ↑ "Privacy Center". Respondus. 12 Sep 2025. Archived from the original on 30 May 2026. Retrieved 17 Jun 2026.
  6. ↑ Balash, David G.; Kim, Dongkun; Shaibekova, Darikia; et al. (10 Jun 2021). "Examining the Examiners: Students' Privacy and Security Perceptions of Online Proctoring Services". arxiv. arXiv:2106.05917. Archived from the original on 2 Mar 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  7. ↑ Calabrese, J. Philip (22 Aug 2022). "Ogletree v. Cleveland State University (1:2021cv00500) - Document 37" (PDF). Justia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 Dec 2022. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  8. ↑ "Our Take on the Ogletree Ruling". Respondus. 14 Feb 2023. Archived from the original on 11 Aug 2025. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  9. ↑ Cuevas, Heidi (18 Jul 2025). "Student Perspective: Lockdown browsers create anxiety, not integrity". PantherNOW. Archived from the original on 16 Mar 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  10. ↑ Adams, Margaret (11 Mar 2021). "Lockdown Browsers: Protecting Integrity or Invading Privacy?". The Tower. Archived from the original on 17 Nov 2024. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  11. ↑ Miller, Sean (2 Dec 2020). "Lockdown Browser is bad software and should be scrapped". The Johnsonian. Archived from the original on 30 Sep 2022. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  12. ↑ "Critical Analysis of Respondus LockDown Web Browser". Open Source Club. 17 Oct 2008. Archived from the original on 20 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  13. ↑ Kelley, Jason; Oliver, Lindsay (20 Aug 2020). "Proctoring Apps Subject Students to Unnecessary Surveillance". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 May 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  14. ↑ Pham, Vivian (30 Apr 2021). "Lockdown browsers fail to create a culture of academic integrity". The Retriever. Archived from the original on 5 Oct 2025. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  15. ↑ "Pricing + Free Pilot". Respondus. Archived from the original on 30 Mar 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  16. ↑ "Respondus lockdown browser messed up my PC". Microsoft. 16 Feb 2025. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  17. ↑ "Our University forced us to download a malware for online classes". Microsoft. 19 Sep 2020. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  18. ↑ XanderDL (28 Jul 2023). "Notebook Windows OS damaged after using Lockdown Browser". HP. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  19. ↑ MoroniPerez (24 Apr 2023). "LockDown Browser has caused issues within my laptop's driver". The Infrastructure Community. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  20. ↑ "I restarted my computer while LockDown Browser was running. Windows Task Manager is now greyed out". Respondus. 4 Nov 2021. Archived from the original on 28 Sep 2025. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  21. ↑ "LockDown Browser froze during a test and I cannot exit". Respondus. 1 Feb 2022. Archived from the original on 28 Sep 2025. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  22. ↑ "Troubleshooting Respondus Lockdown Browser Exam Issues". Davidson Technology & Innovation. Archived from the original on 4 Aug 2025. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  23. ↑ "Respondus LockDown Browser, it will not open or closes itself". Concord University. 10 Nov 2020. Archived from the original on 14 Mar 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  24. ↑ "LockDown Browser Froze While Taking an Exam". Lone Star College. 11 Jun 2026. Archived from the original on 9 Mar 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  25. ↑ "LockDown Browser Issue: Disabling Power Options". University of Connecticut. 20 Feb 2024. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  26. ↑ ""Feature Transfer Error" during install of LockDown Browser". Respondus. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 28 Nov 2021.
  27. ↑ "Respondus LockDown Browser + Monitor". Seneca Polytechnic. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026. I'm having trouble installing/using the Respondus LockDown Browser and my anti-virus software. Temporarily disable anti-virus software by turning off your anti-virus and firewall software while using the browser.
  28. ↑ "Respondus online exam BIPA $6.25M class action lawsuit settlement". Top Class Actions. 22 Jun 2023. Archived from the original on 6 Mar 2025. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  29. ↑ Precious (23 Jun 2023). "Respondus online exam BIPA $6.25M class action lawsuit settlement 2023: Scam or Legit? Find Out!". Planet of Reviews. Archived from the original on 10 Nov 2025. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
  30. ↑ Kroll Settlement Administration (16 Jun 2023). "If you took an online exam in Illinois using Respondus Monitor® you may be entitled to compensation as part of a class action settlement". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2026. Retrieved 19 Jun 2026.
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