SignOut

Signout is the act of ending a user session with an online service or computer system. It typically requires the user to choose a sign-out or log-out option, which terminates the current authenticated session and returns the user to a login screen or public landing page. The primary purpose is to prevent unauthorized access by ensuring that the credentials used to sign in are no longer valid for this session on the device.

How it works: when a user signs in, the system creates a session token or cookie that lets the server recognize the user on subsequent requests. Signing out removes or invalidates this token, clears locally stored session data, and may redirect to a sign-in page. In many web applications, signing out also clears cached credentials on the client to reduce the risk on shared devices.

User experience: on personal devices, signing out may be optional, but on public or shared terminals it is strongly recommended. Some applications preserve recent activity or offer a "remember me" toggle that affects how sign-out behaves.

Technical considerations: for systems using single sign-on (SSO), a sign-out may affect only the local application or may initiate a broader sign-out across linked services. Security best practices suggest closing the browser or clearing tokens after sign-out on shared devices to prevent session hijacking.

Terminology: sign out, log out, sign off, or log off are often used interchangeably, though some products distinguish between module sign-out and system sign-off. In general, they all refer to ending an authenticated session.