Disable copy and paste for students

[SaskiaHendriks]

Good afternoon Community, 

Is there a way for copy and paste to be disabled for students

Thank you 

[dbrace · Accepted solution]

Hi @SaskiaHendriks,

As said by @NoahBoswell, without additional context, this is something that cannot be done without using a third-party integration like a virtual proctoring solution similar to Respondus LockDown Browser.

However, in theory, you could inject JavaScript into your Canvas instance but it would (unless using additional adjustments to have it only apply to certain roles or specific courses/terms/(sub)accounts) would disable right/context clicking for everyone and everywhere in the LMS or it would need to be added to every specific/desired type of content in Canvas (unless using some sort of template).

-Doug

[NoahBoswell]

Greetings @SaskiaHendriks ,

Thank you for posting on the Instructure Community!

I was wondering if you'd be able to provide a little bit more context to as what or where in Canvas you're trying to prohibit students from copying and pasting. If it's something such as an assignment submission, then no, there isn't really a setting that you can just check off to prevent students from copying and pasting. However, when it comes to Quizzes, there might be a third party application out there that you can use to prevent students from doing so, but there isn't really a setting there by default that allows you to simply prevent students from copying and pasting. You may also be able to use custom JavaScript or CSS to accomplish this, too.

I hope this information helps you! 

All the best,
Noah

[dbrace · Accepted solution]

Hi @SaskiaHendriks,

As said by @NoahBoswell, without additional context, this is something that cannot be done without using a third-party integration like a virtual proctoring solution similar to Respondus LockDown Browser.

However, in theory, you could inject JavaScript into your Canvas instance but it would (unless using additional adjustments to have it only apply to certain roles or specific courses/terms/(sub)accounts) would disable right/context clicking for everyone and everywhere in the LMS or it would need to be added to every specific/desired type of content in Canvas (unless using some sort of template).

-Doug

[mcintodg]

I do not intend to hijack Saskia's thread, but I had this question, too, and found this recent post. In my case, I would want to disable the use of copy/paste in Assignment activities when the submission type was set to Online-Text Entry, as well as in all Discussion activities. Nevertheless, based on the responses above by Noah and Doug, this type of restriction does not seem to be natively available in Canvas at the moment. Is that correct?

[NoahBoswell · Accepted solution]

Hey @mcintodg ,

Correct. This feature is not natively available in Canvas, and a third party app would be required to make this work.

Thanks for jumping in!
- Noah

[lwalker5]

So, what third party apps can be used in Canvas to disable copy/paste for discussions ad assignments?

Also, I know that people have written little "programs" to do things like reorder the rubrics.  Has anyone created a program for disabling copy and paste for Canvas?

Thank you!

-Lori

[dbrace]

Hello @lwalker5,

There might be third-party apps that have the ability to copy/paste for discussions and assignments within Canvas but I do not know of any.

Since Canvas is just a web site (a web site that is specialized for learning purposes) and open source, a developer could create Javascript code that specifically (when enabled/requested from an educator) looks for discussions and assignments and disables the ability to use copy and paste. They could then make it available for institutions (possibly for a fee).  Any development and sharing of that code would not officially be supported by the Community or Canvas, just like other third-party apps are also not supported.

-Doug

[vwoldman]

Can Canvas add a function to discussion boards so faculty can opt to enable or disable copy/paste? This would force students to type the response rather than paste and would make it more difficult to plagiarize.

[dbrace]

Hi @vwoldman,

I can understand your desire for this type of functionality to limit copying and pasting but there are times that Canvas Support (both at Instructure and at individual customers/institutions) will recommend typing a discussion reply/post/comment in a word processing system like Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or Apple Pages and the copy and paste it into a Canvas discussion.

Disabling copy and paste functionality would not make that possible.

Doug

[vwoldman]

Yes, that's why I would like the faculty option of enabling or disabling copy/paste for different assignments/discussions/quizzes. At times, starting with a word processing document is best (for spell-check, editing, etc.) That made sense a few years ago. However, in 2025, many students are skipping this step completely and copying and pasting AI generated text directly into Canvas discussions and assignments. There are times when I would like to disable copy and paste so that students had to type their responses. 

[dbrace]

Thank you for the additional feedback and context, @vwoldman.

You will need to go to Canvas Ideas - Instructure Community and submit this as an idea.

Doug

[lwalker5]

This would not be a problem if you could set it specific for each assignment/discussion -- just like honorlock allows you to individually decide the settings for each quiz/exam. The assignment/discussion would be locked after it is created. The settings can also be changed if you choose to do so.

-Lori

[dbrace]

Hi @lwalker5,

Yes, you are correct that the process could be similar to what Respondus LockDown Browser and Honorlock offer.

It is my understanding that when it s comes to virtual proctoring, Instructure has taken the position that third-party apps develop functionality related to academic integrity for Canvas.

-Doug