Portal
A secure, branded web interface, separate from the main app, that shares a filtered view of your Kinabase data with internal colleagues or external collaborators.

have separate controls for offline access and inactivity timeouts. Configure each portal for the work its users do and the devices they use.

1. Control offline access

Offline access lets signed-in users reopen records

Record

An individual entry within a Collection, like a row in a database table, representing one item or entity such as a customer or an order.

they have already opened on that device, and queue stage changes and automations (such as a form

Form

An Automation whose first Step opens a data-entry screen, used to collect structured information from colleagues, or from external users via a Portal.

that runs one) when their connection drops. The setting is off by default for new and existing portals, whether they are for colleagues or external users.

Turn on offline access

Open Settings → Operations → Portals.
Open the portal you want to configure.
Open Security.
Turn Offline access on.
Click Save.

Ask each user to sign in and open the records they need while online, on the device they intend to use. Those records can then be reopened without a connection. Reports, charts and public form links aren't available offline.

Choose suitable portals and devices

Turn on offline access only where saving portal data on the device is appropriate. Kinabase shows Not recommended for external users on shared devices. in the Security pane for an external portal. Leave it off for portals used on public, borrowed, or shared devices.

Work while offline

When the connection drops, the portal shows You are offline. Changes are saved on the device and sent automatically when the connection returns, against the current rules and permissions. Each account on a shared device keeps its own unsent changes.

The top bar shows a count of unsent changes. Click it to open Offline actions, where users can view each change, retry it, or remove it. A change that couldn't be sent shows Sync Error and needs reviewing. If someone signs out with unsent changes, Kinabase asks them to confirm - the changes stay on the device and send when they sign back in.

With offline access off, nothing is saved on the device, and the portal asks users to try again once they're back online.

When a page doesn't load

If a page of records, a record, a form or a report can't load, the portal shows Something went wrong with a short reason - for example, that the user is offline, the page is taking too long, or they don't have access - and a Try again button.

On a report, a chart that fails stays inside its own panel with its own Try again, so the rest of the report still shows.
On a form, a record field whose choices didn't load shows Try again in the field, so the rest of the form isn't lost.
Records already on screen stay visible if a later refresh fails.

Turn offline access off

Before turning the setting off, ask users to reconnect each device and let pending changes send. Then turn Offline access off and click Save.

The next time the portal loads online on a device, Kinabase removes its stored records and queued changes from that device, for every account.

2. Configure an inactivity timeout

When enabled, Kinabase tracks how long a portal user has been idle and automatically signs them out once the configured period elapses.

By default, portal sessions expire after 14 days of inactivity. With inactivity timeouts enabled, you can shorten this to as little as 30 minutes.

Open Settings → Operations → Portals.
Open the portal you want to configure.
Open Security.
Turn on Enable inactivity timeout.
Select a Timeout duration. The default is 1 day.
Click Save.

If Offline access is also on, the timeout can sign users out while they're offline. Their queued changes wait until they sign back in.

The new timeout applies to all future sign-ins for that portal. Existing sessions continue with the previous 14-day expiry until the user signs in again.

Available timeout durations

Duration
30 minutes
1 hour
2 hours
4 hours
8 hours
1 day
2 days
1 week
2 weeks
4 weeks

To return to the default 14-day session expiry, turn Enable inactivity timeout off.

3. What Portal users see

When a session is about to expire, a window displays Are you still there? with two options:

Continue Session resets the countdown so the user can keep working.
Sign Out ends the session immediately.

If the user takes no action, they are signed out automatically and redirected to the portal sign-in page.

Multiple browser tabs

If a user has the portal open in multiple browser tabs, extending the session in one tab automatically refreshes the countdown in every other open tab. Users do not need to interact with each tab individually.

4. Who can change Portal security settings

Only colleagues

Colleague

Someone in your organisation with a Kinabase account; the built-in Colleagues list is where their profiles are managed.

with permission to edit Portal settings can configure offline access and inactivity timeouts. Portal users cannot change these settings themselves.

5. When to use inactivity timeouts

Sensitive data portals

Consider a short timeout (30 minutes to 1 hour) for Portals that expose financial, personal, or confidential information. Select a duration that matches your organisation’s security and compliance policies.

Shared device environments

Enable shift-length timeouts (4 to 8 hours) on portals used by warehouse staff, receptionists, or other users who share a terminal, so sessions are secured when staff walk away.

Low-risk portals

Consider a longer timeout for internal knowledge bases or low-sensitivity portals where users need to stay signed in for longer periods.

Mixed environments

Apply different timeout policies across Portals, based on the work and the devices used to access them.

Portals overview — what Portals are and how they work
External Portals — set up Portals for clients and partners
Internal Portals — set up Portals for team members
Managing Portal users — control access and invitations

Need more help? Ask your System admin, or contact our support team via Help & Support.

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