Shortened Inactivity Timeout
Shortening the timeout on CommCare HQ
All CommCare HQ users are automatically logged out after too long without activity. By default, this timeout is two weeks.
For enhanced security, this timeout can be shortened to 30 minutes. After 30 minutes of inactivity, users will be logged out, and a popup will appear to obscure the screen and allow the user to log back in:
Users will receive a warning popup two minutes before their session expires, giving them the option to extend the session:
"Activity" is any action. It can be navigating to a page, or can be just clicking the mouse or typing data but not submitting it.
This timeout applies across all of HQ with the exception of pages that do not "belong" to a project space, such as the user's account settings.
Setting up the timeout
The timeout is turned on in Project Settings, under Privacy and Security.
When turning the timeout on, be aware that anyone who has been logged in for longer than the timeout will be immediately logged out.
Impact on Web Users with access to multiple project spaces
This setting behaves differently for web users who are part of multiple project spaces. For example, if a user has access to multiple project spaces and at least one of those has the "Shorten Inactivity Timeout" setting enabled, the stricter timeout will apply to the user's account across all projects — resulting in logout after 30 minutes of inactivity, even though they did not log in to the project that has the setting applied.
This does not mean that the setting is applied to all project spaces — rather, it affects the user account session itself, since one web user can access multiple projects from a single login on CommCare.
