Can Professors See Your Chrome Extensions? 3 Cases Explained

It depends on where you are. In a normal Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace or Moodle course, instructors have no documented report listing your Chrome extensions, but the course page can still notice some extensions by what they change on the page. During a proctored exam, tools like Proctorio and Honorlock run as Chrome extensions and can see, disable or record what other extensions do. On a school-managed Chromebook or a Chrome profile signed in with a school Google account, IT admins can list installed extensions in the Google Admin console. Below, each case with its sources.

Last verified: October 12, 2026 against the official documentation linked below.

The three cases at a glance

Case 1: a normal LMS course on your own computer

This is the most common situation: you open a Canvas quiz or a Blackboard test in your own Chrome, on your own laptop, with no proctoring software. What your instructor can open is what the LMS reports. On Canvas that includes the quiz log (answers, timestamps, every time the quiz page lost focus), the course Access Report (which course pages and files you viewed, how often and when), and class-wide quiz statistics. Instructure's quiz log guide lists the log statuses; none of them is about extensions. Our full breakdown is in what professors see in Canvas quiz logs.

Chrome also does not give websites a function to read your extension list. Google's content scripts documentation describes extensions running in an "isolated world" whose variables are not visible to the page.

That does not mean a page cannot tell. The same documentation says extensions and the page "share access to the page's DOM", so anything an extension adds to the page is readable by the page's own code. Google's web_accessible_resources documentation warns that exposing extension files "allows a malicious website to fingerprint extensions that a user has installed". And the page sees focus changes when you open an extension popup, plus copy and paste events in its own fields. We go through each signal in Does Canvas detect Chrome extensions?

So the accurate summary for case 1 is: your instructor does not get an extension list, but the course page is technically able to observe some extensions, and your instructor does see behaviour such as timing, answer changes and tab switches.

What about Blackboard, Brightspace and Moodle?

The same browser rules apply to every LMS, because they are all web pages. Each platform has its own attempt reports, logs and quiz settings, and none of them changes what Chrome lets a page see. For the platform-specific settings, see our Blackboard Ultra quiz guide, Brightspace student guide and Moodle quiz settings explained.

Case 2: a proctored exam

Proctoring changes the picture completely, because the proctoring tool is not a web page. It is either an extension with broad permissions or a separate browser.

• Extensions can see other extensions. Chrome's chrome.management API lets an extension with the "management" permission get information about installed extensions and enable or disable them. Proctorio, a Chrome extension, offers a Disable Extensions lock-down option; the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga advises instructors that it "should be used on EVERY quiz using Proctorio" (UTC Proctorio best practices).
• Recording shows everything on screen. Honorlock's privacy statement says that, if your school enables it, it can record you through your webcam and capture your desktop activity during the exam, and that it can log the websites you attempt to visit in Chrome. Anything an extension displays is part of that recording.
• Locked browsers leave Chrome behind. Respondus LockDown Browser is a separate browser that blocks other applications and websites. Your Chrome extensions are simply not there.

Your instructor sees what the proctoring tool reports: flags, recordings, visited sites, session details. In a proctored exam you should assume that what your extensions do is visible or blocked.

Case 3: school-managed Chromebooks, browsers and profiles

This is the case most students do not know about. If your Chromebook was issued by your school, if your Chrome browser is enrolled in your school's management, or if you signed in to Chrome with your school Google account and accepted a managed profile, your school's Google admins have tools that show installed extensions.

• Apps & extensions usage report. Google's Chrome Enterprise and Education help says admins can "see details about apps and extensions that are installed on users' enrolled Chrome browsers and ChromeOS devices", including "a list of browsers and users with the app or extension installed" and the permissions each one requests. The path is Devices > Chrome > Reports > Apps & extensions usage.
• Managed profiles. Google's managed profile reporting page explains that a managed profile is created when you sign in to Chrome with an organization-managed Google Account, and that admins can see installed apps and extensions for the profile (name, status, version, install type) once managed profile reporting is turned on. Google notes that this extension detail is currently not available for "unaffiliated" profiles, where the browser is managed by a different organization.
• Allow and block lists. Admins can also allow or block apps and extensions on managed browsers and ChromeOS devices, including blocking everything except an allowlist or blocking by permission.
• Classroom management tools. Many schools, especially K-12, install classroom tools on managed devices. GoGuardian Teacher, for example, lets a teacher "see every student's active tab and browsing activity as it happens" and "view student screens as thumbnail tiles" (GoGuardian Teacher documentation).

Note who holds these tools. The Admin console belongs to school IT, not to individual professors; whether IT shares extension data with faculty is a matter of school policy. A classroom tool like GoGuardian, on the other hand, is used directly by teachers.

How to check whether your Chrome or Chromebook is managed

You do not have to guess which case applies. Google's help page Check if your Chrome browser is managed gives two quick checks:

1. Open the Chrome menu (the three dots at the top right) and look at the bottom. If it says "Managed by your organization", the browser or profile is managed.
2. Type chrome://management in the address bar. The page shows who manages the browser or profile, and lists extensions the organization has installed. The chrome://policy page shows the policies currently applied.

Google's page also says plainly what an organization can do with a managed browser: an administrator can set up or restrict features, install extensions, monitor activity and control how you use Chrome. On a school Chromebook, the device itself is enrolled, so the same applies to everyone who signs in to it.

If the menu shows no "Managed by" line and you never signed in to Chrome with your school account, the Google Admin reports above do not cover that browser. Case 1 still applies: the LMS page can observe what extensions change on it, any proctoring tool still does its job, and your instructor still sees timing and answer patterns. And course policies on outside help apply whatever device you use.

What happens when an instructor has questions

Students often imagine an automatic alert that says "extension detected". That is not how it usually works. An instructor who has a concern typically starts from something they can see in the course (an unusual score, a very short attempt, answers that match another submission, or a proctoring flag) and then follows the institution's academic-integrity process. Instructure itself recommends that instructors with integrity concerns work first with the office responsible for academic misconduct, rather than relying on quiz logs alone. Those processes normally give the student a chance to explain, which is another reason to keep your use of tools within what the course allows and to ask before a graded attempt when you are unsure.

What professors see vs what they do not see

What students should take from this

• "Can they see it?" is the wrong question. Whether you may use an extension, especially an AI tool, during graded work is decided by your instructor and your institution's academic-integrity policy. Check the syllabus and the quiz instructions; when in doubt, ask.
• Know which case you are in. A school Chromebook or a managed profile means IT can see your extensions all the time, not only during quizzes, under your school's acceptable-use policy.
• Expect proctored exams to restrict extensions. Run the proctoring tool's system check in advance; some extensions prevent a session from starting.
• Review extension permissions. An extension allowed to read and change data on all websites can read everything on your LMS pages, including grades and messages. Keep only the ones you trust.

Sources

• Instructure: How do I view a quiz log for a student?
• Instructure: How do I view the course access report for an individual user?
• Chrome for Developers: Content scripts
• Chrome for Developers: web_accessible_resources
• Chrome for Developers: chrome.management API
• Google: View app and extension usage details
• Google: View Chrome browser profile details
• Google: Allow or block apps and extensions
• Google: Check if your Chrome browser is managed
• GoGuardian Teacher documentation
• Honorlock: Test taker privacy statement
• University of Tennessee at Chattanooga: Proctorio best practices

FAQ

Can teachers see what extensions you have?

Not through a normal LMS course: Canvas and other LMSs do not document an extension report for instructors. On a school-managed Chromebook or managed Chrome profile, IT admins can list installed extensions, and during proctored exams the proctoring extension can see and disable them.

Can my school see my extensions if I log into Chrome with my school account?

Possibly. Signing in to Chrome with a school Google account can create a managed profile, and Google documents that admins can see installed extensions on managed profiles once reporting is enabled, with exceptions for unaffiliated profiles. Using a school account only on the LMS website, without signing in to Chrome itself, does not create a managed profile.

Can Google Admin see extensions on a school Chromebook?

Yes. The Apps & extensions usage report in the Google Admin console lists extensions installed on enrolled ChromeOS devices, with the users who have them and the permissions they request.

How do I know if my school manages my Chrome?

Open the Chrome menu and look for "Managed by your organization" at the bottom, or visit chrome://management. School-issued Chromebooks are always managed.

Can Canvas see my extensions?

Canvas does not show instructors an extension list. A Canvas page can, like any web page, observe changes extensions make to it. See Does Canvas detect Chrome extensions? for the details.

Can professors see my extensions during a Proctorio or Honorlock exam?

Through the proctoring tool, effectively yes: Proctorio can disable other extensions, and Honorlock can record your desktop and log visited websites when your school enables those settings. Your instructor reviews the resulting reports.