Here’s what actually happens when you check that box. The site saves a login cookie — basically a little file that tells the website ‘yeah, this person already proved who they are, let them in.’ The next time someone opens that browser on the same computer, the site sees the cookie and skips the password screen entirely. No password required. That next person could be a total stranger.
And it’s not just about someone being sneaky. They might not even realize they’re in your account at first. But once they are, they can see your messages, your saved info, your purchase history — whatever that site holds.
Cedarville University’s IT department strongly recommends never clicking to have sites remember you on shared devices, specifically because saved credentials are easier for third parties to access when they’re stored in the browser.
The University of Wisconsin makes it even more concrete. Their login system literally asks: ‘Is this your device?’ Selecting ‘Yes, this is my device’ remembers your session for 7 days — and they explicitly tell users to choose ‘No, other people use this device’ on any shared computer. Seven days. That’s a long window for someone else to walk right in.
The fix is simple. On any computer that isn’t yours and yours alone — a school lab, a friend’s laptop, a hotel business center, a library — skip the checkbox. Just don’t click it. If you already did, most browsers let you clear saved passwords and cookies in the settings. That wipes the stored session so the next person hits a login wall instead of your inbox.