{
  "name": "Stay Signed In receipts",
  "description": "How long real sites keep you signed in, read from each site's sign-in cookie after a real sign-in, with the Stay signed in box checked and unchecked. Each site keeps every dated reading, so changes show up over time.",
  "method": "Sign in with the box unchecked, then checked, in a Chromium-based browser and read the sign-in cookie's expiry in DevTools (Application, then Cookies). This shows what the browser was told; a site's servers can still end a session sooner.",
  "question": "Does the Stay signed in checkbox actually do anything?",
  "answer": "Rarely, in our measurements. Of the four sites we tested, only Steam showed the box, and it changed nothing: checked or unchecked, the sign-in cookie lasted 400 days, the most Chrome allows. GitHub, Amazon and Bank of America never asked, and they kept people signed in for 14 days, 365 days and about 10 minutes.",
  "sites": [
    {
      "slug": "steam",
      "name": "Steam",
      "url": "https://store.steampowered.com/",
      "readings": [
        {
          "date": "2026-10-16",
          "browser": "Chromium",
          "box": "Remember me, pre-checked",
          "checked": "400 days",
          "checkedDays": 400,
          "unchecked": "400 days",
          "uncheckedDays": 400,
          "finding": "No difference. Both hit Chrome's 400-day cap on the same day.",
          "source": "us"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "bank-of-america",
      "name": "Bank of America",
      "url": "https://www.bankofamerica.com/",
      "readings": [
        {
          "date": "2026-10-16",
          "browser": "Chromium",
          "box": "None. \"Save user ID\" only",
          "checked": "n/a",
          "checkedDays": null,
          "unchecked": "session only",
          "uncheckedDays": 0,
          "finding": "Signed out about 10 minutes after sign-in. Your card-view preference is kept for 400 days.",
          "source": "us"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "github",
      "name": "GitHub",
      "url": "https://github.com/",
      "readings": [
        {
          "date": "2026-10-16",
          "browser": "Chromium",
          "box": "None",
          "checked": "n/a",
          "checkedDays": null,
          "unchecked": "14 days",
          "uncheckedDays": 14,
          "finding": "The cookie that says you're logged in lasts 365 days. The session lasts 14.",
          "source": "us"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "amazon",
      "name": "Amazon",
      "url": "https://www.amazon.com/",
      "readings": [
        {
          "date": "2026-10-16",
          "browser": "Chromium",
          "box": "Never shown",
          "checked": "n/a",
          "checkedDays": null,
          "unchecked": "365 days",
          "uncheckedDays": 365,
          "finding": "Passkey sign-in skipped the page with the box. Signed in for a year without being asked.",
          "source": "us"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}