Can Schools See Your Search History? [Solved]

The recent pandemic has changed the social fabric we have built over hundreds of years. The effect has been widespread, with limited social interactions and work-from-home becoming the norm. Like in corporate work culture, the recent pandemic has also affected students’ lives.

With students stuck at home and accessing classes online, the dependency on school accounts and networks has increased. With hundreds and thousands of students accessing the internet on school accounts and devices, there is a serious cause for worry. And that worry comes from simple questions: Can schools see your search history? Can they see your search history at home?

Do Schools Monitor Your Internet Activity?

Internet history is a gray area. What you search for and your general online actions reveal your areas of interest, your inclinations, and your personality.

It’s known that Google knows more about you than your parents. But what if your school can also see your internet history, especially when you access the internet at home? Does that thought scare you? If you use a school account, a school device, or even the school’s network, there is a good chance that your school monitors your browsing details even when you’re at home.

The worst thing is they can monitor you even when you are not connected to the school network. Let’s say that your school has provided you with an email. The email is on Google Workspace. Let’s also assume that you connected your Google Chrome account using your school email on your computer. This allows your school internet administrator to access your internet history. They can access your online activities using the school’s administrative login to the workspace.

Now, this is the scary part. Even if you use your device to access the internet, if you have synced your device using the same school account, your internet activities are susceptible to outside monitoring.

Why Does Your School Track Your Search History?

It’s logical for schools to prevent students from accessing objectionable, offensive, and potentially harmful material on the Internet. Schools also have a policy of preventing the flow of such unacceptable material using their network. This includes access to such material using the student account they provide each student with.

The fundamental reason for such a blocking stance by a school is to prevent students from falling prey to cyberbullying and the potentially harmful content that floats around on the internet.

Accessing and sharing such material using school accounts and internet networks is strictly forbidden. The punishment for violating this official code of conduct can vary from school to school. In most countries, the federal government does not lay down the rules; instead, schools form their own rules and hand out punishment that they deem fit. Some policies aren’t a big deal, while others can be harsh.

If you are thinking about preventing your online activities from falling into the hands of your school internet administrator, the simplest method is to avoid accessing content that may be deemed objectionable. In other words, limit your internet access to legal information related to your studies. Avoid accessing sensitive information or anything that may be considered illegal. Stay away from sites, file-sharing applications, and any information the school may have explicitly mentioned in its guidelines.

Even if the school has not mentioned or blocked anything specifically, avoid accessing information common sense indicates is illegal or objectionable. Restrict your online activity to sites and information that is legal and related to your studies.

How to Prevent Your School from Tracking Your Search History

Most students feel that deleting their online history is a fool-proof method to ensure that their internet searches and general internet history are wiped out. But depending on the situation, there are many ways your school may be able to track your activities.

Avoid Using Your School-Provided Google Account

If you access the internet while logged into your school Google account, all your internet history and searches are logged in your account, including your deleted history. This is not limited to your school computer. Even if you access the internet using your personal computer that is synced with the Google account provided by your school, your browsing history is accessible by your school authorities. The only way around this is to avoid using the Google account provided by your school. You can use any personal account that is not connected to your school’s Google Workspace or your school’s domain.

Avoid Using Your School’s Wi-Fi Network

Even if you avoid using your Google account, if you’re connected to your school’s Wi-Fi, you activity can still be traced back to you. One workaround is to use your phone’s mobile data, as your school has no way of tracking that. Just make sure you disable the phone setting that automatically connects to familiar Wi-Fi networks so you’re not caught off guard.

You may even be able to connect a school computer to your phone’s hotspot to avoid detection that way, but I wouldn’t risk it, as your school may be able to track your activities offline using software installed locally on each computer.

If You Must Use Your School’s Wi-Fi, Connect to a VPN

To potentially prevent your activities from being tracked while you’re on school Wi-Fi, you should consider using a VPN. A VPN routes your connection through a remote server and encrypts your traffic, preventing outside parties from tracking or intercepting it. But there are exceptions for school computers, which we’ll discuss shortly.

Installing a VPN on your phone is as easy as installing any other app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. So if you want to use your phone privately but you’re forced to use your school’s Wi-Fi rather than your mobile data, a VPN would work perfectly to hide your activities. Since your phone is your own device and doesn’t have school monitoring software installed, you should be in the clear. But your school may still be able to detect that you’re using a VPN. So if using a VPN is against school policy, tread carefully.

School computers are a different story than personal phones. Some school computers simply block program installations. In that case, it would serve you best to just avoid accessing anything considered illegal or unacceptable. If you can install a VPN on your school computer, it’s still the case that your school may be able to detect that you’re using a VPN. Furthermore, monitoring software installed locally on school computers could capture keystrokes, screenshots, and browsing activity even if you use a VPN.

If you decide to try a VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN, which also lets you install a Google Chrome extension for faster access to its VPN services. You could also try CyberGhost VPN, our second-highest-rated VPN. CyberGhost offers budget pricing for long-term plans. In addition to hiding your activities, both VPNs let you access geo-restricted or network-blocked content at school.

Consider Using a VPN All the Time

Besides your school, your internet provider can also access your internet history. This is true regardless of associations with a school, which is another reason students may be uncomfortable with their search history, even at home.

Plus, you can use a VPN to enhance your security online and to access content that would otherwise be restricted or blocked. For example, a VPN can give you access to other countries’ content libraries on streaming services.

Conclusion

If you use your school network, a school-associated account, or a school laptop or device your school’s authorities can access your history, even if they’re not actively monitoring your online activities at all times. Your browsing history doesn’t require a computer nerd sitting in a computer lab to access it. Anyone with administrator access to your school server or laptop can discover what you’ve been up to.

Workaround include logging out of school-associated accounts, avoiding your school’s Wi-Fi network, using a personal device, and installing a VPN. VPNs have many other uses and cost very little on long-term plans, so consider getting a good one, like ExpressVPN, for daily use.

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Topic: Internet