Comparison

SafeExamBrowser vs Plugged In

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SafeExamBrowser

This app creates a secure browser environment for online exams, preventing students from accessing other apps or websites. It locks down devices into an assessment kiosk mode, ensuring exam integrity on both personal and institutional iOS devices.

Highlights
  • Secure kiosk browser environment
  • Prevents app switching and website access
  • Assessment kiosk mode
  • Supports unmanaged and managed iOS devices
  • Configurable via API, files, links, and QR codes
  • Integrates with LMS and exam systems
  • Optional Dock and slider menu for commands
Features
Read full description

SafeExamBrowser (SEB) is a secure kiosk web browser environment used to carry out e-assessments that run on exam servers. SEB opens a web browser without an address and search bar, loads a pre-configured webpage and locks an iPad (or iPhone or iPod Touch) into an assessment kiosk mode. This mode prevents students from switching to other apps (unless additional permitted apps are configured), accessing websites and communicating with other students during an exam. SEB enables secure exams on unmanaged iOS devices like students' own iPads as well as on iOS devices owned and managed by an institution. SEB doesn't use a centralized server or cloud service; it can be configured with an API, configuration files, links and QR codes. It can be used with most web-based quiz and e-assessment systems. For improved security and usability, some exam systems provide additional built-in support for SEB. Currently, SEB integrates especially well with learning management systems (LMS) such as Moodle, OpenOlat, ILIAS and with several non-commercial and commercial exam systems, such as Inspera Assessment, Dugga, Exam.net, EvaExam and Ans. SEB uses one of the single app modes provided by iOS. After an exam is submitted, SEB can automatically end the app self-lock assessment mode (an exam invigilator could also use a quit password to end the SEB exam session and unlock the device if necessary). SEB features an optional Dock displaying buttons for various commands. Instead or in addition, a left slider menu shows a list of open browser tabs and commands which can be used to (if enabled in settings) quit an exam session, jump back to the start page of an exam, reload a web page, and navigate back/forward in the browsing history. SEB for iOS uses the same format for encrypted .seb configuration files as the SEB versions for other platforms. Those config files allow to individually configure SEB to display the start page of an exam system or an exam portal page with a list of links to current exams. If SEB for iOS is installed using a mobile device management (MDM) system, its initial configuration can easily be deployed using the "MDM Managed Configuration" feature. You can also directly start an exam with an individual configuration in SEB for iOS using a special config hyperlink. This link can be opened by examinees from Safari, Mail or a messenger app. In addition, you can use QR codes containing SEB links or even full, individual configurations. An exam can directly be started in SEB by using the iOS Camera app or the built-in QR code scanner. SEB also works together with Apple Classroom, teachers can start individually configured exams on all student devices. See https://safeexambrowser.org/ios for more information. SafeExamBrowser for iOS was developed by Daniel R. Schneider, ETH Zurich, IT Services, based on the original idea of Safe Exam Browser by Stefan Schneider, University of Giessen Project concept: Thomas Piendl, Daniel R. Schneider, Damian Büchel, Andreas Hefti, Nadim Ritter, Dirk Bauer, Michael Kern, Kai Reuter, Tobias Halbherr, Karsten Burger, Marco Lehre, Brigitte Schmucki, Oliver Rahs. Safe Exam Browser is released as freeware. The code is subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may only use these files in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/ . Important parts of this project have been carried out as part of the program "AAA/SWITCH – e-Infrastructure for e-Science" led by SWITCH, the Swiss National Research and Education Network and the cooperative project "Learning Infrastructure" (part of the CRUS program "Information scientifique: accès, traitement et sauvegarde") coordinated by SWITCH, and was supported by funds from the ETH Board and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

About

Plugged In

This educational tool connects Paul Mitchell Schools students with their coursework and school resources. Access learning systems, manage your profile, and receive messages from school leaders, all within one app.

Highlights
  • Access to Color, Cutting, and Makeup Systems
  • View and update profile information
  • Access to Plugged In website content
  • Receive school messages
  • Educational resource tool
Features
Read full description

Plugged In is an enhanced educational and resource tool, exclusive to Paul Mitchell Schools, that enables our Future Professionals to stay connected with their education inside and outside of the classroom. Features and Access Includes: Paul Mitchell Schools System Apps - Future Professionals will have access to The Color System, The Cutting System, and The Makeup System apps from within the Plugged In app. My Profile Access - Future Professionals will have access to view and update their profile information within the Plugged In app. Plugged In - Future Professionals will have access to all content found on our Plugged In educational and resource website. This content includes: Multiple Intelligence, MASTERS, Careers, Professional Development, Mentors, Education, Giving Back, Caper, Media, Contests, Product, and The Buzz. Messages - Future Professionals will have the ability to view and receive individual or group messages from their school leaders. This App is for Paul Mitchell The School students. Get your email and password from your PMTS school today.

Screenshots

SafeExamBrowser4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Plugged In at 2.0 against SafeExamBrowser's 1.6. SafeExamBrowser's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (50 vs 10). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Plugged In holds the better App Store score, 2.0 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SafeExamBrowser has 50 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 7% of SafeExamBrowser's written reviews are positive against 0% of Plugged In's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SafeExamBrowser ships an update every 3 months, Plugged In every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SafeExamBrowser versus Plugged In: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSafeExamBrowserPlugged In
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.6 (50 ratings)2.0 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews7.1% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings50 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 11 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperETH ZurichRobinsage

Customer experience

SafeExamBrowser

All ratings46 ratings
Positive15.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative84.8%
Written reviews411 reviews
Positive7.1%
Neutral1.2%
Negative91.7%

Plugged In

All ratings10 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative70.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

SafeExamBrowser

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • App crashes
  • Freezes and becomes unresponsive
  • Cannot exit kiosk mode
  • Blank page errors
  • Slow performance
Show 19 more
  • High battery consumption
  • Device locking issues
  • Setup difficulties
  • Poor instructions
  • Errors during exams
  • Unreliable behavior
  • Difficulty uninstalling/quitting
  • Device issues (black screen, viruses)
  • Inconsistent camera support
  • Cheating still possible (reported by some users)
  • Data privacy concerns raised
  • Unintuitive interface
  • Incompatibility with older/newer OS versions
  • Configuration issues
  • Leads to exam failure
  • Developer unresponsiveness
  • Not working with iOS 18
  • Camera access issues
  • Kiosk mode not activating properly on iOS 17

Requested features

4 requests
  • Better instructions/homepage
  • Support for Thai language
  • Update for iOS 18
  • More user-friendly setup

Plugged In

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

SafeExamBrowser

No in-app purchases

None

Plugged In

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SafeExamBrowser free?
SafeExamBrowser is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Plugged In free?
Plugged In is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SafeExamBrowser or Plugged In?
Plugged In is rated higher. SafeExamBrowser averages 1.6 out of 5 from 50 ratings, while Plugged In averages 2.0 from 10 ratings.
Do SafeExamBrowser or Plugged In have ads?
Neither SafeExamBrowser nor Plugged In shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SafeExamBrowser or Plugged In?
SafeExamBrowser ships an update every 3 months, and Plugged In every 11 months. Most recently, SafeExamBrowser was updated on October 29, 2026 and Plugged In on October 12, 2026.

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