How long children stay signed in

A child stays signed in for 4 hours of inactivity on a family device, up to 24 hours. Press Not me to sign out sooner.

Updated November 2, 2026 · 2 min read

On a family device, a child stays signed in until they've been idle for 4 hours, and never past 24 hours in total. On a class device the idle limit is 10 hours. A child can sign out at any time by pressing Not me.

Session lengths

Device	Signed out after idle	Longest session
Family device	4 hours	24 hours
Class device	10 hours	Not stated yet

One child at a time

A device holds one signed-in child at a time. If a sibling wants a turn, the first child presses Not me, and the next child picks their name on Who is reading?

Sign a child out

On the child's screen, press Not me.
The device returns to Who is reading?

Or use the grown-up check. Passing it signs the child out and opens the family page.

What the trusted browser has to do with it

Signing in as a child needs a browser you trusted for reading. That trust lasts 180 days and covers every child in the family. It is stored as a cookie, so clearing cookies or using a private window removes it. See Set up a reading device and Private browsing and cookies.

Common questions

Why did the grown-up check appear?

A child is still signed in on that browser. Pass the check or press Not me on the child's screen.

No. Adult sessions have their own limits. See Why was I signed out.

Do I need to sign my child out at night?

Not for safety reasons, since the session ends by itself. Do it if another child will use the device next.

Related: Sign out. Questions? Contact us.

The grown-up checkBefore a grown-up page opens on a device where a child is signed in, you hold a button and type a number. Here is how it works.Set up a reading deviceHow to trust a browser for your child, choose how they sign in, and what to do if cookies get cleared.Sign outHow to sign out of your adult account, and the difference between signing out and a child's "Not me".Bands and gradesA child's grade sets their band: Sprout, Sapling, Grove or Summit. The band changes tap size, text size and sign-in options.

Still stuck?

Write to us with what you were trying to do and what you saw on screen.