Bitwarden Learning

Vault timeout options are settings that allows you to specify when your Bitwarden vault will automatically lock or logout, and the trigger for that action, just like screen lock options you may have on your desktop.

Your Vault timeout and Vault timeout action is configured individually for each Bitwarden client application.

Vault timeout determines how long Bitwarden can be inactive before timing out and triggering the vault timeout action. You will have predefined time-based options (for example: 1 minute, 15 minutes, 1 hour) as well as additional options based on your platform, such as on System Idle for desktop applications and on app restart for mobile devices. Please see the Help Center article on Vault timeout for special considerations for the web app and browser extension.

You will have two options available for your Vault timeout action: Lock or Logout.

Selecting Lock allows you to keep a copy of your vault offline and provides additional unlock options in addition to your Bitwarden password, such as Unlock with biometrics or Unlock with PIN.

Log out removes your vault data from your device, requiring you to authenticate online including any configured 2FA options next time you need access.

If you need to configure vault timeout options for your whole organization, the Enterprise Plan includes a system-wide policy that allows you to specify the maximum time allowed before the timeout action occurs as well as whether that action is lock or logout.

Enabling the Vault timeout policy will implement a maximum Vault Timeout duration for all members of your Organization. This policy applies the timeout restriction to all client applications (Mobile, Desktop, Browser Extension, etc.). Before you can enable the Vault Timeout policy, the Single Organization policy must be enabled. Conversely, the Vault Timeout policy must be disabled prior to disabling the Single Organization policy.

Once the user-selected timeout has been reached, you can select if you want your members' vaults to lock, log out, or leave it up to user preference.

• Vault timeout options

• Enterprise policies