In short
Sign in from a browser TimelyDo does not know and you get a 6 digit code by email. Enter it, leave Remember this device for 60 days ticked, and that browser skips the code until the 60 days are over.
See and remove your devices at Settings → Security. If a new sign in email says it was not you, one button signs everyone out.
What it is
A password on its own proves very little. Anyone who learns it can try it from anywhere. So when your password is entered in a browser that has never signed in to your account before, TimelyDo asks for one more thing: a short code it sends to your email. Only someone who can read your mailbox can finish the sign in.
Once you have entered the code you can tell TimelyDo to remember that browser. A remembered browser is called a trusted device. It skips the code for 60 days, so everyday sign ins stay quick.
Who is asked
Everyone who signs in with an email and password from a browser that is not remembered. There are two exceptions:
- You use two factor authentication. Your authenticator code already checks the device, so you are not sent an email code as well. See Two Factor Authentication.
- You sign in with Google. Google checks the device itself, so there is no email code. You still get the new sign in email when the browser or country is new.
Signing in from a new browser
Remembering a device
A remembered device skips the email code for 60 days, counted from the day you entered the code. Using the browser does not extend it. After 60 days you are asked for a code once more and can remember it again.
The browser keeps a small private cookie for this. That has a few results worth knowing:
- A different browser, a private window, or another computer is a new device and asks for a code.
- Clearing your cookies forgets the device. Your next sign in asks for a code.
- Two accounts on the same browser are both remembered.
- Changing your password, or resetting it, removes every remembered device on your account.
What is covered
Here is how each way into your account behaves.
| Way in | Email code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Email and password | Yes | Only on a browser that is not remembered, and only without two factor authentication |
| Sign in with Google | No | Google checks the device. You still get the new sign in email for a new browser or country |
| Password reset link | No | The reset email already proves your mailbox. Every remembered device is removed |
| Email confirmation link | No | A link sent to your mailbox, used when you change your email address |
| Two factor authentication on | No | You enter your authenticator code instead |
| API key | No | Integrations keep working. An API key cannot manage your trusted devices |
Your trusted devices
Open Settings → Security and find the Trusted devices card. It lists every browser that is remembered on your account.
- Each row shows the browser and system, when it was last used and when its trust ends. The one you are using is marked This device.
- Remove forgets one device. The next sign in from it asks for a code.
- Remove all forgets every device. You stay signed in on the browser you are using.
- Recent security activity below the list shows your last sign ins, codes asked for, wrong codes and alerts, with the browser and country. Entries are kept for 90 days.
New sign in emails
When your account is used from a browser or a country it has not been used from before, TimelyDo sends you an email so you can check it was you. It shows the browser and system, the approximate location and the time.
An email is not a block. The sign in has already happened, or was held by the code, and the email only lets you react. To keep your inbox quiet it is sent at most once every 10 minutes, and never for your very first sign in. A location comes from the network address, so a VPN or a mobile network can show a different country than the one you are in.
If it was you
Nothing to do. Close the email.
If it was not you
Select This wasn't me in the email and then Secure my account. TimelyDo signs out every device, removes every remembered device and emails you a link to choose a new password. The link works once and expires after 7 days. Opening the email by itself changes nothing, so a mail scanner cannot trigger it.
Troubleshooting
I did not get the code
The code is rejected
I am asked for a code every time
I got an email about a sign in that was me
How it works under the hood
- A correct password alone never signs you in. Until the code is right you are not signed in to anything, and closing the tab simply ends it.
- The code is random, single use and kept only as a one way fingerprint for 10 minutes. It is emailed straight away and not placed in a queue.
- A remembered browser holds a random secret in an encrypted, private cookie. TimelyDo keeps only a one way fingerprint of it, so a copy of the database cannot be used to sign in.
- The sign in activity keeps the browser, system, country and a shortened network address, and is deleted after 90 days.
Frequently asked
Do I have to turn this on?
I use two factor authentication. Will I get the email code as well?
Does this affect people who book with me?
Will my API key or integrations stop working?
Can someone steal my remembered device?
What if my email is not reachable right now?
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