Webcam Photos During Exams
Optional still photos from candidates' cameras: switching them on, telling families, who sees them and when they are deleted.
What it is
You can choose, exam by exam, to take a still photo from each candidate's camera at a regular interval, and when they come back after leaving the exam screen. There is no video and no sound, and no computer checks faces: the photos are a record for a person to look at if there is a question about a sitting. It is off unless you turn it on.
1. Switch it on for the school
A school-wide administrator goes to School → Family portal and switches on "Webcam photos during online exams". A plain statement appears beneath it — what photos are, who sees them and how long they are kept — so read it, then press "Save". Switching this off later stops photos on every exam straight away.
2. Turn it on for an exam, at least a day ahead
Open the exam's "Exam-day security" and, on the "Webcam photos" card, tick "Take webcam photos during this exam", choose how often under "Take a photo about every" — from 1 to 10 minutes, every 1½ minutes unless you change it — and press "Save webcam settings". The card shows roughly how much of your school's storage the photos will use. Families must be told at least a day before the exam opens, so photos cannot be switched on, or made more frequent, for a published exam that opens within 24 hours, and an exam with photos on cannot be published within 24 hours of opening. Once anyone has started, photos can only be switched off or made less frequent, with a reason. If the card says your school has not switched this on, "Family portal settings" takes an administrator to the switch.
3. Families are told first
Each pupil's family is e-mailed a notice saying what will happen. A text goes in its place only where your school has switched on texts for online exams on the Text messages page. A section assigned less than a day before the exam opens gets shorter notice: its families are told then. A pupil is never photographed until their family has been sent the notice, so a pupil who joins the class after that is not photographed on this exam, and the monitor shows "Off: family not told" for them. On an entrance exam the notice travels in the invitation, so turn photos on before you invite anyone — once anyone is invited, photos cannot be switched on.
What the pupil sees
Before starting, the pupil reads the notice and answers "I agree" or "I do not agree". The camera is only opened after they agree. A pupil who says no, has no camera, or whose camera stops still sits the exam as normal, and is told their teacher can see that the camera is off. They can change their mind during the exam: "Stop taking photos" ends them, and "Change my mind" turns them on after saying no. Most lab computers have no camera, so expect to see "No camera" for many pupils on the monitor — that is not a fault.
Excusing a pupil
If a family objects, tick "Webcam photos" alone on the pupil's row on the monitor, type a reason and press "Exempt". The screen rules still apply to them, and the reason is never shown to the pupil.
Who sees the photos
Only staff who can invigilate exams see photos, and an entrance exam's photos also need permission to view admissions. Every time someone opens them it is recorded. The "Webcam photos" panel on the monitor is hidden every time the page opens, so photos never go up on a projector by accident; press "Show photos" to see the newest photo of each candidate sitting now, refreshed every two minutes. The End and Withhold dialogs offer "View photos" beside the decision. Photos are never shown to pupils or parents, and they cannot be exported.
How long photos are kept
Photos are deleted 30 days after results are released, or 30 days after the exam closes if you do not use the release step. A withheld result's photos are kept until at least 90 days after the exam closes, in case the decision is questioned, and anything never released goes 90 days after the exam closes. An entrance exam's photos are deleted no later than 90 days after it closes. Deletion is automatic, and nobody can delete photos sooner by hand. While they are kept, photos count against your school's storage; if it fills up, photos stop being saved and the exam carries on as normal.
With Safe Exam Browser
If the exam requires Safe Exam Browser, download the exam file again after turning photos on: the old file will no longer open the exam.
⚠️ What a webcam cannot do
A camera cannot see a phone, another device, or a person out of view. It gives you a record to look at, not a lock, so keep invigilating.
Still stuck?
Email info@tocel.ng and tell us which guide you were following.