Much has changed in the way how universities offer their students examinations and assignments. Online classes have become much more popular.
However, this trend has also seen an increase in cheating as students start to develop clever mechanisms to beat online learning platforms, such as Chegg.
One popular method of cheating is uploading questions to Chegg and filling in the exam answers.
As professors become more aware of this problem, they regularly request ongoing investigation reports from Chegg. But can Chegg tell professors who viewed questions?
In this article, we find out what data the online platform provides to educational institutions and know that can Chegg see who viewed a question.
Can Chegg See Who Viewed A Question?
Yes, the education technology platform Chegg can see specific personal details about who viewed a question.
In fact, Chegg collects the device’s IP address that you are using while you view a particular question from an academic integrity officer.
Plus, the platform also has access to your billing address and email address which means Chegg can identify who viewed their website as long as the user is logged into his account.
As a regulated company, Chegg doesn’t share this data with anyone unless requested.
Does Chegg Tell Professors Who Viewed Questions?
While Chegg captures the viewing data for logged-in users, your professor or university would have to request this data from Chegg.
This means that a teacher can only find out if a question has been viewed on Chegg by asking the platform for an investigation report.
When an academic institution or a teacher asks for question data to be released to them, then Chegg is legally obliged to provide this information, including who viewed a question.
Can Chegg See Who Viewed A Question Without An Account?
No, Chegg has no way of knowing what users viewed a question if they don’t have an account.
However, users cannot access Chegg answers and questions without an account, so this scenario is impossible on the Chegg website.
You will need to register for either a paid account or free logging to access the platform’s services, including creating and viewing questions.
This being said, you can access questions and answers for free through popular online forums and community websites, such as Quora or Reddit.
Chegg won’t be able to track who viewed questions on these sites.
What Information Does Chegg Provide To Universities?
If a university requests specific user information, Chegg can send a report with detailed student information, including who viewed answers or uploaded questions to their platform.
If you use your university or school email address, then your email and name will likely show up in this report.
It is worth saying that Chegg collects a lot of data which allows universities to identify individual students. However, identification may be more difficult in such a case.
There are two types of data sets that Chegg sends to universities: asker details (about users who uploaded a question) and viewer details (users who viewed the question and answer).
Here is an overview of what’s included in these two reports.
Asker Details
Chegg collates a great variety of information about users who upload specific questions without authorization. This data includes:
- Question and answers
- Question ID
- Question date
- Answer date (This is the time a user received an answer.)
- Asker user ID
- First and last name of the asker
- Asker Email ID
- Device IP address where a user uploaded the question
- Student school name
Viewer Details
In addition to the asker information, Chegg also collects details about who viewed the questions and answers. The data in the report sent to universities is:
- Question ID
- Answer ID
- First and last name
- Viewer email ID
- View date
- Device IP address where a user viewed the question
How Can A Teacher Tell If You Use Chegg?
Not all of the details provided to teachers by Chegg can identify you.
For example, if you use your school’s email address, then the teacher will instantly know that you viewed specific questions on the platform.
Chegg also captures and share the first and last names of users who accessed questions.
This means that teachers may also identify you by name.
You may use a different name and your personal email address to sign up for Chegg. This reduces the risk of your professor or instructor finding out about you using Chegg.
Alternatively, you can also use a friend’s account to gain access to the information on the platform.
Keep in mind that Chegg also captures a device’s IP address. This means that if you access the software from a device on campus or at school, then you may be at risk of being found out.
As a student, it is your responsibility to use learning platforms, like Chegg, responsibly. You can ask questions as part of your homework but it is not worth using Chegg for cheating.
Does Chegg Give Out IP Addresses?
Yes, Chegg gives out IP addresses of devices that accessed questions and answers on request.
Universities and educational institutions need to ask for a report that includes device IP addresses for askers and viewers.
If you use the same device to view or ask a question on Chegg as the device to upload your final assignment, then this could identify you as the user.
Your institution will then just need to match the time with the IP address and this leads them back to a specific user.
Does Chegg Notify Your School?
No, Chegg doesn’t automatically notify your school or university. Your institution has to request an investigation report to find out who used Chegg for certain questions.
If a school suspects that their college students used Chegg to detect plagiarism and cheating, then they can ask the platform to send them information about the people who viewed the student’s solution.
Chegg is under a legal obligation to provide these details to an institution.
How Long Do Chegg Investigations Take?
Chegg aims to respond to investigation requests within 24 hours via honor code policy. However, the response time can vary, depending on how extensive the issue is and how quickly the institution raises any cheating concerns.
If the investigation request comes from someone in charge of assignments or the office of the Dean, then Chegg liaises closely with all parties to pull a final Chegg report together.
A professor can ask the Dean’s office to either email Chegg directly or complete an investigation request form.
The institution needs to fill in its contact details and any content that should be investigated. Your professor will then receive the results report in an Excel sheet.
What Happens If You Are Found Cheating With Chegg?
If your teacher identifies you on the investigation report from Chegg, then they will likely discuss the issue and contact Chegg and you.
Depending on the outcome, you may fail the assignment and the institution could even enforce other disciplinary measures. You could even be expelled from classes.
Plus, teachers are encouraged to feed back any findings to Chegg, so your Chegg account will be closed and you are banned from opening another account.
Final Thoughts
Chegg collates a great variety of user data that they can share with professors and teachers on request.
