Prevent data loss from session timeouts

Users with cognitive, motor, or vision disabilities may need longer to finish forms and authenticated tasks. Silent session expiry can erase work, force a restart, and block completion of important transactions.

Quick Reference

• Warn users before a timeout causes lost work
• Allow time extension for content-controlled time limits when feasible
• Autosave or preserve entered data across logout and re-authentication
• Keep timeout dialogs keyboard accessible and announced to assistive technology

Check

Review authenticated flows, forms, and long-running tasks for inactivity timeouts. Verify users are told the timeout duration, warned before expiry, can extend the session when allowed, and can resume after re-authenticating without losing work.

Fix

Add an accessible timeout warning, preserve drafts or submitted data across session expiry, and restore the user to the same step after re-authentication. Where the time limit is content-controlled, offer turn off, adjust, or extend behavior when feasible.

Explain

Explain how timeout warnings, extension controls, autosave, and re-authentication recovery reduce data loss and align with WCAG enough-time guidance.

Code Review

Review authenticated forms, checkout flows, editors, and long-running tasks related to Prevent data loss from session timeouts. Flag routes or components that can expire silently, discard entered data, or block recovery after re-authentication.

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For full implementation details, code examples, and framework-specific guidance, see references/rule.md.

Rule page: https://frontendchecklist.io/en/rules/accessibility/session-timeout-recovery