1

I'm paranoid enough that I'd like to use two-factor authentication for my Google account and automatically sign out of Google on browser close. But I'm not paranoid enough to use two-factor authentication on my own personal computer.

I don't know of any way to satisfy both of these desires simultaneously. As far as I know, automatically signing out of Google requires clearing Google's cookies on browser close, but having Google's 2FA trust my personal computer requires saving Google's cookies across browser sessions.

Is there anyway to automatically sign out of Google on browser close while retaining Google's cookies (at least, the ones that tell Google's 2FA to trust my computer)?

I'm using Firefox 65.0 on Ubuntu 18.04.1, but I don't how to do this on any browser or OS.

|improve this question

migrated from superuser.com Feb 3 at 14:26

This question came from our site for computer enthusiasts and power users.

  • 1
    This is an interesting "cross-site-scope" question. From the web apps applications point of view, I don't think that there is a setting to automatically delete selective cookies, maybe the web browser could do that and if not, then you should ask for a software recommendation. – Rubén Feb 3 at 15:34
  • Just a note on your choice of word "paranoid": I think 2FA is perfectly normal, even for low-profile people. A better description for need to use 2FA should be 'cautious'. – ahorn Mar 1 at 16:45
  • @ahorn Yes, I was being facetious with the word "paranoid". I'm surprised that there's no well-known solution to this problem, because I would've expected that my location on the cautiousness spectrum was a fairly common one. I guess most people who use 2FA don't bother to sign out on browser close. – tparker Mar 1 at 21:23
  • @tparker why do you want to sign out on your personal computers? Is this an extra security precaution, over and above the password you use to log in to your computer? Does your computer not automatically lock after a certain period of time? – ahorn Mar 2 at 4:24

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.