I’ve been logged out 3 or 4 times today - indeed, each time I leave, I have to log in to the web and the forum again, whether iPhone, iPad or desktop.
For what it’s worth I don’t normally log on the desktop, but I did today. And since then I keep getting logged off whenever I access the website and the forum no matter which device.
I actually hadn’t had this issue for a couple of weeks prior to today.
What do you mean by “leave”? Close the tab? In order to try and replicate the issue, we need a detailed step by step description of what you’re doing, with URLs and screenshots if possible.
It would also be great if you can take a screenshot of your website data management settings for iNaturalist. In the desktop, go to Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data and search for inaturalist.org. Should look something like this:
I should have caught this myself before posting.
I had inadvertently slipped into Private Mode, so that’s likely why My login was not persistent.
Apologies.
Update to my report on this: I just realized I haven’t seen unexpected logout in probably the last 2 weeks at least, so whether a better chrome update fixed it or whatever, all seems normal now!
I’m on Chrome, Windows laptop. When I close the Chrome window, I have to log back into iNat but not facebook, IG, reddit, etc… not a huge deal but if there’s a fix I’ll take it. I try to just never close Chrome now.
This is now happening to me every time I visit the site.
Can confirm this has started happening again for me also during this past week.
@raymie which browser are you using?
What does this look like, you try to do something and find you’re logged out?
I’m using Chrome. If I’m not on the site for more than half an hour or so, I have to log back into the site even if I choose “Remember Me”. Previously the happened only rarely, now it’s happening every time.
And you’re logging in using the email/username and password combo, not a third party?
That is correct.
The same for me. Chrome, desktop windows, I use email and password. It has happened fairly often for the last week or so. Today I think I’ve had to sign in around 5 times or so (as I was on and off the site while processing and uploading photos).
It also happens with some frequency on my Android phone and website. (I don’t use the app)
edit to add: I use Chrome browser on my phone, as well.
It’s not a huge imposition but definitely an annoyance.
I’m also experiencing this recently. I’m in chrome.
same for me for the past few days. Works perfectly fine on Opera, but when I use Chrome, I have to log in again every single time I open the browser
I am having a similar problem on Firefox, but not quite as frequently. I check “remember me” every time I log in, but it only remembers me for about 12 hours or sometimes less. I use the username/password login, not a third party.
I have examined the cookies on the browser both before login and after getting the login page. The inaturalist.org remember_user_token cookie is there before the attempt to login, with an expiration about two weeks out, but when I connect to the site, the login page is displayed, and the cookie has disappeared.
Thanks for the reports, all, but, it would really help if you could provide a specific set of steps we can use to try and recreate the issue on our end. There are reports here and repots at help@inat but few have provided specific information about exactly what’s happening. Some people are saying they spontenously are logged out, others say it only happens after they close/quit the browser, and those could be two separate issues. Please write out something like this:
1. In Chrome 92.0.4515.159, I logged into inaturalist.org using my username/email address and password. Click “Remember Me”.
2. I used iNaturalist normally.
3. 12 hours after I logged in, I tried to add an ID and was told I need to be logged in to do that - here’s a screenshot.
Logged on to iNat using Firefox 87.0 under Linux Fedora 32. I was allowed in based on a previous login with “remember me” set from earlier today.
Did normal work for several hours (displaying observations, identifying). There were no operational anomalies.
After several hours of working, plus several hours of no activity but with the browser still up and logged in, I did a last burst of IDs, then closed the browser.
Remembering something I needed to check, I almost immediately brought up Firefox and connected again, whereupon I got the login page. It didn’t remember me.
I am convinced that some problem with the initial login check is sometimes causing the remember_user_token cookie to be deleted, which then causes the login screen to appear.
for me, it is really sporadic. I had to log in this morning - after logging in maybe 5 times yesterday - but it remembered me every other time I visited the site otherwise today.
The bookmark I use for entry onto the site is: https://www.inaturalist.org/home?tab=yours
I know it has happened when I’ve freshly opened Chrome then used my bookmark to navigate to that page. I can’t say for certain (but I will try to make a future note) whether I have been logged out when I have kept the Chrome browser open after first visiting iNat - closing that tab or navigating to a different site - then revisiting iNat again (without having closed the browser).
I have never been logged out while actively using the site and moving from page to page within the site. Only when I’ve navigated away from iNat or closed the tab for iNat or closed Chrome completely.
And, as far as I can tell (and I’m pretty decent at troubleshooting) there is no regularity. I can go days without it happening and then it will happen 3-5 times in a day. And I’m a creature of habit and I don’t think I’m doing anything different at times when it happens that I haven’t done when it hasn’t happened.
I will, however, strive to be aware of and take more notes if it happens in the future to see if there’s a pattern I’m missing.
Desktop : Chrome Version 92.0.4515.159 + Windows 10 Home
Android (visiting the website - NOT the app) : Chrome Version 92.0.4515.159 + Android Version 10
