When someone else has a profile open
A profile can only be open on one computer at a time — what the lock means, how to take one over, and why LoginDeck works this way.
On this page
A profile can only be open on one computer at a time. That applies across your own machines and across your whole team. When another computer has one open, you see a lock instead of its usual status.
🔒 What the lock means#
In the profile list, the Status column shows 🔒 followed by the name of the computer holding it — 🔒 LAPTOP-XYZ. Hover it and the tooltip reads "Open on LAPTOP-XYZ — starting it here will ask to take it over".
The Run button stays clickable. LoginDeck doesn't hide the option; it asks first.
That name is whatever the other computer is called, which its owner can change under Account → Your computers → This computer is called.
⚖️ Why one at a time#
Two browsers writing the same logged-in session, from two different addresses, is one of the clearest signals a site has that an account is being shared or stolen. It's a common way to get an account flagged. So LoginDeck claims a profile when it launches and releases it when the browser closes.
🔑 Take a profile over#
If the other computer has crashed, gone to sleep or been shut down uncleanly:
- Click Run on the locked profile.
- The dialog That profile is open on another computer appears. It names the machine and when it took the profile, and says how long its claim has left.
- Click Open here anyway (the red button).
This computer opens the profile, and if the other one is still actually running, it closes the browser on its side. The person there sees the toast "Shopify #4 was taken over by STUDIO-PC — closed here".
Don't take over a profile someone is using
If the other computer is genuinely working in it, taking it over closes their browser mid-session, and anything they hadn't finished is interrupted. Ask first, or wait.
⏳ Or just wait#
A claim lasts two minutes and is renewed every 40 seconds while the browser is open. So a computer that crashed, slept or lost its connection stops holding the profile within about two minutes on its own — no intervention needed. The dialog tells you how much of that is left.
A computer also releases every claim it was holding when LoginDeck starts up, and when you sign out.
📚 Running many profiles at once#
Bulk Run doesn't stop on a dialog for each profile. It skips any that another computer holds and names them in the summary toast — "Started 12, 1 failed — Shopify #4: …". Taking one over is a per-profile decision, made from that profile's own row.
See Change many profiles at once.
ℹ️ Good to know#
- Offline, the lock doesn't apply. If LoginDeck can't reach the server — no connection, signed out, a server problem — the profile opens anyway. Only a definite "another computer has this" stops a launch. Two machines that are both offline can therefore both open the same profile, so keep an eye on that.
- All the server learns is the profile's id, the name of the computer holding it, and the timing. Not the profile itself.
- Closing the browser releases the profile straight away, and on a paid plan its session is uploaded first so the next computer gets it signed in. See Cookie and session sync.
- This isn't a plan limit. It works the same on Free.
❓ Common questions#
Can two people use the same profile at the same time?
No, and you shouldn't want to. Two browsers on one logged-in session from two addresses is what gets accounts flagged. Give each person their own profiles, or take turns.
The computer holding it is switched off. Do I have to wait?
No. Click Run, then Open here anyway. Or wait up to two minutes and the lock clears by itself.
Will taking it over lose my cookies?
No. The session comes down from the server first, and on a paid plan the other computer had already uploaded it when its browser closed. If the other machine crashed with the browser open, its most recent session was never captured, so you get the last one that was.
What name is shown in the lock?
The other computer's name, set on its Account page. If they're all called DESKTOP-4F9K2L, rename them — that's the only thing the name is used for.
I see a lock on a computer I don't recognise.
Check Account → Your computers for the list of machines using the account. If one isn't yours, change your password — that signs out every other computer. See Change your password or email.
Does the lock also stop the local API and Flows?
Yes. Anything that launches the profile takes the same claim, so a Flow or a script hits the same rule.