Implementing Auto-Logout in PHP: Enhancing Security for Your Web App

When building a web application, security is always a top concern. One effective way to protect your users is by implementing an auto-logout feature. This ensures that users are automatically logged out after a period of inactivity, reducing the risk of unauthorized access. In this post, we’ll walk through the theory of how to set up this feature in a PHP session-based login system. Overview We’re creating a secure login system where users are logged out after a defined period of inactivity. This involves session management, detecting user activity, and implementing a countdown timer. Step 1: Session Management First, we need to manage user sessions. When a user logs in, we start a session to keep track of their activity across different pages. Here’s what you need to do: Initialize Sessions : Use session_start() to initiate a session or resume the current one. Store Session Data: Store user-specific data, like the username, in session variables to make it accessible throughout the s...