Here\'s a question-based title that matches the article\'s content: Why Are My PHP Sessions Expiring Too Soon, and How Can I Fix It?

PHP Session Expiration Woes

Your frustration with PHP sessions disappearing prematurely is a common issue. While temporary inactivity can trigger session timeouts, the inconsistent behavior you're experiencing suggests a deeper problem.

Session Timeouts in PHP

PHP stores session data in the system's temporary directory by default. The expiration time is controlled by the session.gc_maxlifetime configuration directive, which specifies the maximum number of seconds a session can remain inactive before expiring. By default, this value is set to 1440 seconds (24 minutes).

Tracking Session Ownership

The built-in PHP file handler for sessions doesn't track ownership of session files. Instead, it simply matches session IDs with filenames. This can lead to confusion when multiple applications share the same temporary directory and have different session.gc_maxlifetime settings.

Solving the Problem

To resolve this issue and prevent session data from prematurely expiring, it's recommended that you configure a private custom session directory for your application. This can be achieved using the session_save_path() function or setting the session.save_path configuration directive. By creating a dedicated directory for your sessions, you ensure that your application's data is not affected by the settings of other applications sharing the same temporary directory.

Additional Tips

• Ensure that your web server is configured to use the correct session directory.
• Check your firewall and security settings to rule out any potential blocking of session cookies.
• If you continue to experience issues, consider using a different session handler, such as redis or memcached, which provide more control over session storage.

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