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Constantly being logged out

Quasirandom 🚫
Updated:

On iOS/safari, I keep a couple SOL tabs open in a separate group, like my library queue and story stats, which are NOT private browsing. I've not taken any updates for almost two weeks. The past two days, I've been having issues with getting logged out when I return to the SOL pages. Opening a tab generally means getting automagically logged back in again (though sometimes I have to tap Log In) but by the simple fact of being logged out, all the tabs with pages accessible only when logged in get redirected to the home page. This is done in a way that the previous page doesn't remain in the tab's history, forcing me to navigate back, which negates the whole point of keeping those tabs open.

Usually getting logged out takes a few hours of being away from those tabs, but just now, it happened after five minutes of checking another app. It's getting pretty annoying. Any tech support or debugging you could provide would be appreciated. TIA

ETA: Another annoyance: getting logged back in after being logged off also resets on the home page which updates I've already seen, because it's a page reload.

Replies: Michael Loucks madnige tendertouch Michael Loucks Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster) Gauthier George-1 Gauthier StarFleet Carl Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Michael Loucks 🚫
Updated:

@Quasirandom

While it doesn't explain the quick logouts, some browsers cap the length of time they'll keep a cookie. See: Cookie Status. Safari is pretty aggressive in that regard.

The first thing to check is if you are using iCloud private relay. Try turning that off and see if it changes the behavior.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@Michael Loucks

Nope, private relay was already Off. Thanks though.

madnige 🚫
Updated:

@Quasirandom

A suggestion for a workaround if this can't be resolved: Keep a tab open on the 'Stories Accessed Today' page, refresh that tab just before accessing the 'difficult to get' page tabs, and check if it's still logged in. The rationale for this is that you MUST be logged in to access that page, so if you get an up-to-date copy (complete with recent timestamp), you know that you are logged in, and it's just a single click away from the home page (the N/M just above 'Quick Search').

A possible non-site mechanism for being logged out is if you have a web accelerator enabled, which could be accessing the 'Sign Out' links to preload them for quick access when your browser is otherwise idle.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@madnige

That workaround doesn't help in Safari, at least, because it loads all tabs in a group as soon as you access it, which means the logged-in-only pages all get redirected even if I don't focus on them.

Nope, no web accelerator.

tendertouch 🚫

@Quasirandom

No answer here, but I think I'm seeing the same behavior since the previous iPadOS update (so not 16.2 associated.) I don't get logged out of SOL, but maybe because I have it set to stay logged in. It does log me out of other sites just as though I'd shut down the browser and pulled it back up. It is *not* Safari specific, in fact it happens on some other apps that lose state if they're shut down as well as other browers.

Replies: StarFleet Carl

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@tendertouch

I'm seeing the same behavior since the previous iPadOS update (so not 16.2 associated.) I don't get logged out of SOL, but maybe because I have it set to stay logged in.

That was 15.6.1, and yeah, I have the same thing. I keep three screens open in Safari on my phone and it does that. I haven't tried to duplicate it in Chrome on my phone, mostly because I haven't thought of it before now.

Replies: tendertouch

tendertouch 🚫

@StarFleet Carl

Like I said, it's not just the browsers for me. I have a Mastermind game that I flip to frequently just to kill 30 seconds or a minute. It's a simple game, though, so if you take it down in the middle of a game, the game is lost as it resets. That's happening at the same time the browsers are flushing. Mostly it feels like it rebooted without going through the lock screen, so I'm thinking it's flushing memory for some reason.

Michael Loucks 🚫

@Quasirandom

Have you tried flushing the site data (cookies, etc) in the settings menu? A stale cookie can cause weird behavior.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@Michael Loucks

Um, no. How do I do that in Safari? Or do you mean the SOL account settings?

Replies: Michael Loucks

Michael Loucks 🚫

@Quasirandom

In Safari on the phone, go to Settings/Safari/Advanced/Website Data then slide left to delete anything for SOL or WLPC.

On the Mac, go to Safari Preferences (Settings if you are on Ventura)/Privacy/Manage Web Site Data and select any WLPC or SOL data, then click 'Delete'.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@Michael Loucks

Nope, didn't help — still getting redirected because of logging out. Thanks anyway.

Replies: Michael Loucks

Michael Loucks 🚫

@Quasirandom

The next step on a phone would be to reset the network settings. (Settins/General/Reset or Transfer/Reset Network Settings). You'll have to sign back in to a WiFi network (then it will sync all your WiFi passwords from the cloud, if that's turned on).

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Quasirandom

which are NOT private browsing.

Are you sure? Everything you're describing happens with private browsing. Safari doesn't separate private tabs from normal tabs like before.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

Yeah, just double-checked. Opening a New Tab from here opens it in the SOL group without the "you're browsing privately" message, opening a New Private Tab from here opens it in the Private group with the message. The open SOL tabs have no indication of being private, and have been open for weeks, well before this started. A new tab in this group (which opens without the message) also has this behavior.

Replies: Michael Loucks

Michael Loucks 🚫

@Quasirandom

Did you close those tabs before you cleared the website data? If not, try that. In fact, close the tabs, remove the data, and then reboot the phone.

Replies: Quasirandom Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@Michael Loucks

Aaaaah, no. Good point. I'll try that.

Quasirandom 🚫

@Michael Loucks

Nope, that didn't fix it. Also happens with a tab in the main group, definitely not private browsing.

Replies: Michael Loucks

Michael Loucks 🚫

@Quasirandom

Do you have any extensions running (you can check in Settings/Safari/Extensions)? If so, turn them all off.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@Michael Loucks

Nope, no extensions.

Gauthier 🚫

@Quasirandom

solscore is set to expires in 23h30.

Are you sure your iDevice has the correct time & time zone.
if the time match the local time, but the time zone is not correct you could shorten the cookie live.

iOS default to automatic time which should be good, albeit most corporate lan block time.apple.com as hackers commonly exploit ntp for DDOS.

Replies: Quasirandom

Quasirandom 🚫

@Gauthier

Yup, automatic time setting — I'm in a place that doesn't observe DST, and if I don't use automatic time, the calendar gets borked every time everyone else shifts an hour.

George-1 🚫

@Quasirandom

I have the same issue, on an iPad running 15.7 (too old for the new OS.). My 'Home' page is on a tab, and when I leave it alone for a while when I return I'm logged out. I have to tap the Login link, and it refreshes and I'm logged in. Note I don't have to log in, just tap the login link.

I have the same issue when returning to a story open in a tab, I'm logged out and I can fix that by tapping the chapter link for the chapter I'm on.

It's a little quirky, but not a major problem for me.

Replies: Dinsdale

Dinsdale 🚫

@George-1

Is this a recent development or was it "always so"?

Replies: George-1

George-1 🚫

@Dinsdale

Only for the last month or so.

Gauthier 🚫
Updated:

@Quasirandom

I've been having issues with getting logged out when I return to the SOL pages

This has all the hallmark of a memory constrain triggering a page unload.
For unknown reason (more than likely a Safari bug or privacy setting) the page reload doesn't send the solcore cookie. A login refresh go to the wlpc cookie login and the solcore is recreated.

get redirected to the home page

The fact that the login redirect you to the correct page relies on a cross site referrer header.
If safari omit or truncate the referrer, The login will send you back to the home page.

To correct this referrer issue, you may try:
https://www.arcolatheatre.com/disable-prevent-cross-site-tracking/

I have a similar issue with private browsing on Android / Chrome. However, for me a simple page refresh restore the login. Since there is no navigation away of the page, I only lose the scroll position in some instances.

Replies: tendertouch Gauthier

tendertouch 🚫

@Gauthier

The memory contraint idea would also explain my issues, but I still wonder why it's happening just recently. When I went to use the iPad this morning it had happened again — each app acted like it had been kicked out of memory, then reloaded. I'm not keeping any more apps in memory than I ever have before, in fact fewer. Just a minor annoyance for me, but annoyance nonetheless.

Replies: Dominions Son Gauthier

Dominions Son 🚫

@tendertouch

An update to the OS could have the OS using more memory reducing the amount of memory available for running apps.

Replies: tendertouch

tendertouch 🚫

@Dominions Son

That's what I was thinking of when I pulled several things that I've tended to keep in memory, out. I'm not sure it's made a difference, though.

Maybe they changed the algorithm they use to determine what to unload. I think it used to be based on how recently an app had been used as well as how big it is, but now it seems to be everything at one go. I remember I had a Scrabble game that tended to get unloaded first, simply because it was huge and it might go a day without being accessed.

Gauthier 🚫
Updated:

@tendertouch

On PC, we have virtual memory and swap files (aka virtual RAM), so browser never resort to page eviction and reload. On Mobile (iOS/Android) there is so far no Virtual RAM (albeit there is talk of adding some on Android)
So on iOS/Android it is standard behavior to kill an application and restart it on focus, as usual with time and features creep, apps grow fat and eviction occur more often.

If it's not a memory constraint, another explanation is that lately, browsers turned on more and more optional features to save battery / ram / cpu.

There is Edge efficiency mode and sleeping tabs. Which are now available on Chrome, Firefox recently added tweaks for power saving. I'm sure apple took inspiration with added bugs.

The fact that there is no javascript event listener on most SOL pages and that the render is very lightweight make them a good candidate for economy by total oblivion and reload from cache on focus. There is just a pesky combo of rapid cache expiration and a login state problem That make the reload a pain.

Gauthier 🚫

@Gauthier

The fact that the login redirect you to the correct page relies on a cross site referrer header.
If safari omit or truncate the referrer, The login will send you back to the home page.

The login link at the bottom of a story includes an argument meant to redirect you to the correct page.
The login link in the menu however, does not.

So the home page redirect after login issue, due to Safari butchering the referrer could be solved by Lazeez with a bit of javascript on the Login link or a server side change to the login link.

The fact that Safari forget the loaded page and reload it incorrectly can only be solved by getting rid of Safari.

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@Quasirandom

I'm going to run a simple experiment tonight.

I'm opening the same three tabs using Chrome / DuckDuck Go and Safari. SOL, SciFiStories, and Bookapy. I keep the Bookapy page open to number of stories downloaded, and I keep the other two pages open to the Authors & Editors Resource page, to see if anyone updates comments.

Let's see if anything happens differently between them overnight.

Replies: StarFleet Carl

StarFleet Carl 🚫

@StarFleet Carl

anything happens

Safari - the Bookapy page stayed. Both SOL and SciFiStories pages logged out, and immediately logged me back in to the respective home pages for both sites.

Chrome - Bookapy page stayed. Both SOL and SciFiStories logged me out and brought me to the home page NOT logged in, which all I then had to do is hit Home and I was logged in.

Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

@Quasirandom

I changed the cookies' 'SameSite' setting from strict to Lax.

Let me know if that helps.

If it does, it means that the reload doesn't show you're logged in when you actually are and any action you take, like clicking on any link on the site would work as it should if you are actually logged in.

So it's mostly cosmetic.

Replies: George-1 Quasirandom

George-1 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

That seems to have fixed my quirk (not really a problem, just unexpected behavior.). My issue was exactly what you described and the site no longer does that.

Quasirandom 🚫

@Lazeez Jiddan (Webmaster)

(catching up after hectic holidays)

That seems to have fixed the issue for me as well. I haven't noticed any logouts since just before Christmas. Thanks!

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Constantly being logged out

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