Why sites log you out when you switch tabs, and how to stop it

Getting signed out of a web app while you were in another tab for ten minutes is annoying, especially when you were still working.

Two kinds of auto logout

The first kind watches the tab itself. The page listens for the browser telling it that it is hidden or has lost focus, and starts a countdown, pauses, or marks you as away. Chrome slowing the page’s timers can make this worse, because a session keep-alive that should run every minute no longer runs on time.

The second kind watches you. The site counts how long it has been since you last moved the mouse, clicked or typed on that page, whether or not the tab is in front.

Stopping the first kind

Protect the tab with TabRevive. The page keeps seeing itself as visible and focused, receives no tab-switch events, and its timers keep running on schedule, so its keep-alive requests go out as intended.

The second kind

For sites that time out on inactivity, turn on Simulate Activity in TabRevive’s settings. It sends a small mouse movement to protected tabs every 30 seconds.

Some organisations log you out on purpose, for security. If it is your employer’s or your bank’s system, check that keeping the session open is allowed.