I’VE WONDERED MORE ABOUT THIS AS THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN MORE AGGRAVATING: Username and Password Hell: Why the Internet Can’t Keep You Logged In.

Whenever you enter your username and password, the app or site opens a “session,” quickly compiling relevant data to your account and connecting you to the servers and tools you need. That creates a security risk: If your session is still open and another person on the same computer goes to the same site, he or she could have access to all your stuff. As a result, most developers set an end date for your session, automatically closing your connection to the site or app after a specified amount of time. This security risk is also why you have to confirm your identity when changing account settings or shipping purchases to new addresses.

When you only had one computer, entering passwords every few weeks didn’t feel so arduous. Now you have laptops and phones and tablets and maybe even smart TVs, all logged in to the same things, each demanding a bi-weekly re-up.

And it gets worse. Each device now has multiple browsers and apps—and nowhere is it more chaotic than on our beloved smartphones. If you check sports scores on an app, you have one login, if you do the same on the Safari or Chrome browser, that’s another. If you click a link on Twitter , or someone emails it to your Gmail account, those apps have their own browsers, and you have to log in through each one. It starts to feel like a constant nag.

I’ve found that Apple’s FaceID is an elegant solution for mobile devices, but for security reasons can’t be used on computers (like non-all-in-one desktop models) without an integrated camera. But even FaceID doesn’t solve the problem — or eliminate the extra steps — of websites which keep you logged on for mere hours instead of weeks.