Does Turnitin save your paper?
Short answer: usually yes. Most standard Turnitin assignments save your submission to the repository and check future papers against it, so a paper you run through a storing account can later match your own real submission. The fix is a no-repository check: PaperCheck runs your paper through the real Turnitin without adding it to the database, and deletes your file within 24 hours, so it never causes a self-match.
How Turnitin’s repository works
When a paper is submitted to a standard Turnitin assignment, it is added to Turnitin’s paper repository and kept there, unless the assignment is set to no repository. Every later submission gets compared against that stored pool, alongside web pages, journals, and other students’ work. That is how Turnitin finds matches.
One thing to keep straight: Turnitin reports matching text, it does not decide that anything is plagiarism. A match against a stored paper is just an overlap until a human looks at it. (For what the percentage means, see what counts as a good similarity score.)
The self-match trap: how a pre-check can flag your own work
Here is the situation that catches students out. You want to check your paper before the deadline, so you run it through a personal Turnitin account, a friend’s account, or a cheap third-party checker. If that account stores submissions, your paper is now in the repository. When you later submit the real thing to your course, Turnitin matches it against the copy you uploaded earlier, and your score can climb to nearly 100%.
The danger is real specifically when:
- You used an account that stores papers (most standard ones do).
- The earlier copy went into a different assignment or a separate database.
- You can’t easily prove the earlier copy was your own pre-check.
Does that mean you’ll fail? Not always
Do not panic. If your assignment allows resubmissions, sending in a new version before the due date usually overwrites your first attempt, so it won’t match itself. And when a match points back to your own earlier submission, your instructor can often see it is your work and dismiss it, especially when that copy sits in your own school’s account (a match to another institution’s repository can take a request to view). Plenty of lecturers say exactly this.
What actually gets students in trouble is real self-plagiarism: handing in work you already submitted for another grade without disclosing it. That is a separate issue from a stored pre-check copy, and it is worth avoiding on its own.
What “no repository” (Do Not Store) means
Turnitin has a setting that fixes the storage problem: “no repository,” sometimes shown as “Do Not Store Submitted Papers.” With it on, your paper is fully scanned and you still get an accurate similarity and AI report, but the paper is not added to Turnitin’s database. Nothing is left behind to match against later.
How to check your paper without it being saved
This is exactly what the check here is built for. PaperCheck submits your paper to the real Turnitin with the no-repository setting, so you get the official similarity and AI-writing reports your instructor would see, and your paper is never added to Turnitin’s database. It cannot cause a self-match when you submit for real. On top of that, we strip identifying metadata and delete your upload within 24 hours.
So the contrast is simple: a storing account (or a sketchy cheap checker) can quietly put your work in the repository and set up a 100% self-match later. A no-repository check does not.
Can you get your paper removed from Turnitin?
Usually not by yourself. Only the instructor or institution that owns the account can ask Turnitin to delete a stored paper, and it can take a while. That is why the cleaner move is to never let a storing account hold your paper in the first place, rather than trying to claw it back afterward.
Frequently asked questions
Does Turnitin store your paper permanently?
By default, a paper submitted to a standard Turnitin assignment is added to its repository and kept indefinitely so future submissions can be compared against it. The exception is when the submission is set to “no repository” (also called “Do Not Store”), in which case the paper is scanned but not saved.
Will Turnitin flag my own paper if I resubmit it?
It can. If your earlier paper is sitting in the repository and you submit the same text again, Turnitin will match it and your similarity score can jump toward 100%. If the assignment allows resubmissions, sending in a new version before the due date usually overwrites the first copy, so the real risk is when an earlier copy was stored somewhere else first (a different assignment, a personal account, or a third-party checker).
Can I check my paper on Turnitin without it being saved?
Yes, but only with a no-repository check. A normal student or personal Turnitin account often stores what you upload. A service that submits with the no-repository setting scans your paper without adding it to the database, so it cannot cause a self-match later. That is exactly how the check here is run.
How do I get my paper removed from Turnitin’s database?
You usually cannot do it yourself. Only the instructor or institution that owns the account can ask Turnitin to remove a stored paper, and it can take time. The simplest way to avoid the problem is to not let a storing account hold your paper in the first place.
Does running a similarity check count as submitting my assignment?
No. Checking a paper for similarity is separate from submitting it for a grade. But if the check is run through an account that stores papers, your text still ends up in the repository, which is the part that can come back to bite you.
Is reusing my own work self-plagiarism?
It can be. Handing in work you already submitted for another grade, without disclosing it, is treated as self-plagiarism at many schools. That is different from a stored pre-check copy matching your final submission, which is the same text and which an instructor can usually see is your own.
Check your paper without it being saved
Get the official Turnitin similarity and AI-writing reports your instructor sees, submitted with no repository so your paper is never added to Turnitin’s database, and deleted within 24 hours. No repository copy, no self-match.
Run a safe Turnitin checkNot affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Turnitin, LLC. “Turnitin” is a trademark of Turnitin, LLC, used here descriptively.