Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Google ditches new helpful user feature completely unannounced

The “homework help” button on Google Chrome has been temporarily removed after educators raised concerns that it made cheating too easy for students
The “homework help” button on Google Chrome has been temporarily removed after educators raised concerns that it made cheating too easy for students (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
  • Google has temporarily disabled its 'homework help' button in Chrome following widespread criticism from university professors.
  • The feature, introduced in early September, used Google Lens to scan on-screen quiz content and generate AI-based answers, even during tests.
  • Educators from institutions like UCLA and Emory argued the button facilitated cheating, undermined academic integrity, and raised concerns about student data privacy.
  • Critics labelled the tool a 'cheat button,' questioning its impact on the learning process and the potential exposure of data from secure course sites.
  • Google stated it paused the feature to improve its helpfulness for learning, while educators expressed relief but maintained concerns about academic dishonesty and data security.
In full

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in