The half-hour after sign-out
Customers believe they have left. The portal sometimes disagrees. Shared counters and family tablets make that disagreement expensive.
Sign-out is a courtesy until the next person sits down. Then it is a control.
We still find portals that clear the header and keep a token, that forget the account home and remember the download, that treat the back button as a second login. None of this requires an attacker. It requires a nephew, a clerk, or a hotel business centre.
Timeout copy is another quiet failure. ‘Your session has expired’ with a button that returns to a half-filled form feels helpful. If the form still posts against the previous account, it is not.
When we review sign-in, we stay for the half-hour after. We open a new tab. We use the same browser. We try the reset mail on a second device. The notes from that half-hour are often the ones sponsors remember.
If your portal is used at a counter, say so in the scoping call. The review changes. Kiosks do not behave like a product manager’s laptop.