Lock iPads to a Quiz with Safe Exam Browser

On a school iPad, the distance between a quiz and an AI app is one swipe. Quiz conditions make that swipe visible to you, but a website can't stop it. An app can. With ClassKite's SBQ mode, you can require Safe Exam Browser, a free app that locks the iPad to the quiz until you end the session. This guide walks through setting it up, what students see, and how to handle the moments that don't go to plan.

What Safe Exam Browser does

Safe Exam Browser is a free, widely used exam app, available from the App Store. When a student opens your quiz in it, the iPad is locked to the quiz: no app switching, no Home screen, no Control Center and no screenshots while it runs. ClassKite shows no question outside it, so a student can't simply open the quiz in Safari instead.

Turning it on

On the Live Session page, choose the section and the practice.
Tick SBQ mode. Safe Exam Browser is only offered for SBQ quizzes.
Tick Require Safe Exam Browser, then start the session.

What students see

A student who opens the quiz in Safari sees "This quiz must be taken in Safe Exam Browser", with a link to install the app and a link to open the quiz in it. Once the app opens, they sign in to ClassKite again inside it and the quiz begins. It's worth installing the app on the iPads before the lesson, so nobody waits for a download.

On your Live Session grid, each card shows "Not in Safe Exam Browser", "In Safe Exam Browser" or "Exempt from Safe Exam Browser", so you can see at a glance who still needs a hand getting in.

Students stay locked in until you end the session

Finishing the quiz doesn't unlock the iPad. A student who finishes early sees "All answers submitted" and a note to stay where they are; Safe Exam Browser closes by itself shortly after you end the session. That way, an early finisher can't help a classmate who is still working.

If a student's Wi-Fi drops, they stay locked and are released when it comes back. And if a session is never ended, students are released automatically three hours after it started.

Letting one student out early

Illness, a fire drill, a flat battery: sometimes one student needs to leave before the end. Make a note of how to do this before you start:

Open the student's card on the Live Session grid.
Tap Show the exit code. Only you can see it.
On the student's iPad, tap Quit in Safe Exam Browser and type the code.

The code works without internet. Keep it away from students.

Students who shouldn't use it

Safe Exam Browser turns off spell-check, dictation and Speak Selection. For any student who relies on them, or who doesn't have an iPad, open their card and choose to let them in without Safe Exam Browser. Their quiz still runs under quiz conditions.

Safe Exam Browser in ClassKite is for iPads. Chromebooks and Android devices can't run it, so exempt students using those.

What it doesn't do

It doesn't stop a second device. A phone camera can still photograph the screen, so phones away still matters.
It's for SBQ quizzes in a live session, not for self-practice.

Create a free teacher account and try an SBQ quiz with Safe Exam Browser.

Frequently asked questions

Does it cost anything?

No. Safe Exam Browser is free from the App Store, and requiring it in ClassKite works on every plan.

Do the iPads need to be managed by the school?

No. Students install the app from the App Store like any other.

What if a student closes the app?

While the quiz is running, Safe Exam Browser asks for the exit code before it will quit. Without it, the student stays in the quiz until you end the session.