php expire session

[xXImm0rtaLXx]

I want to expire the session after 30 mins of inactivity, but online all the solutions i found have it set that it expires even if you click/move around the site. I want it that if you click anywhere on the site it will start counting down from 30 minutes again. Any advice?

[badreg]

Here is an example with a code snippet:

 

https://solutionfactor.net/blog/2014/02/08/implementing-session-timeout-with-php/

 

Basically, you unset, destroy and start a new session if one already exists.

[alofoxx]

So the problem your having is your not updating the expiration to now+30 mins everytime they do something.

 

PHP runs on the server and not on the user's browser - so it will only know they have done something when it causes the page to load by refreshing or clicking on a link. 
In your code where you check if the session is expired - if it is not you need to set the expiration time to now+30 mins or whatever. 

This does not handle "moving the mouse". Since this is based on server requests PHP is not going to know what the user is doing on the browser like typing or moving the mouse or scrolling. That takes something client-side like javascript. It's a bit more complicated too - I would suggest having a pop up (modal or confirm dialog) saying "hey your about to be logged out! click ok to stay logged in!" and then if they click ok reload the page or something. 

To do it without a page reload you will need to use ajax calls to tell the server your user is still there. (more advanced)