Your PIN & the lock screen

Every Wattle user has a personal 4-digit PIN. It does two jobs:

• Unlocks the screen when the app locks itself after a period of inactivity — so a computer left unattended at the front desk doesn't leave patient records open to anyone walking past.
• Signs off controlled-drug register actions — processing, adjustments and destructions on the Schedule 8 register always take the acting vet's PIN. See PIN sign-off.

Your PIN is yours alone. It's never shown on screen (dots appear as you type), it's stored securely, and nobody — not even Wattle support — can read it back. Don't share it: on the controlled-drug register your PIN is your signature.

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Set your PIN the first time

Usually: every user, just once.

The first time you sign in, Wattle asks you to set your PIN before you go any further. For brand-new users that's right after the onboarding wizard; if you've been using Wattle since before PINs existed, you'll be asked once on your next sign-in. It takes about five seconds.

Step by step

1. Sign in as usual.
2. A Set your PIN window appears. It can't be dismissed — setting a PIN is required.
3. Type a 4-digit PIN in the New PIN boxes.
4. Type the same 4 digits again under Confirm new PIN.
5. Click Set PIN. You're in.

Pick something you'll remember but others won't guess — avoid 0000, 1234 or your year of birth if it's widely known at the clinic.

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When the screen locks

Usually: everyone — it's automatic.

If nobody touches the mouse or keyboard for a while, the whole app is replaced by a lock screen — the Wattle logo, a Locked heading, your name, and four boxes for your PIN.

• You are still signed in. The lock is a privacy screen, not a log-out — nothing is lost, and unlocking puts you straight back where you were, mid-consult and all.
• Refreshing the page doesn't get around it. Whether your session has gone idle is decided on Wattle's servers, per computer — a reload, a cleared cache or opening the app in a new browser lands on the PIN screen (or the sign-in page), never an unlocked app.
• Signing in never stacks with the PIN. A fresh sign-in is already proof it's you — you go straight into the app. The PIN screen only appears when a signed-in session has actually sat idle.
• How long before it locks is a clinic-wide setting: 15, 30 or 60 minutes of inactivity (15 by default). An admin can change it under Settings → Security.
• If you'd rather hand the computer to a colleague, click Sign out on the lock screen instead — they then sign in as themselves.

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Wrong PIN too many times (lockout)

Five wrong attempts in a row locks your PIN for 15 minutes. The lock screen switches to a countdown and won't accept any more attempts until it reaches zero.

Two honest things to know:

• Signing out and back in doesn't skip the wait. The lockout is recorded on the server, so you'll land straight back on the locked screen until the timer runs out.
• You don't have to wait if a manager is around — anyone with team-management permission can clear it immediately (next section).

Every PIN attempt — right or wrong — is recorded in the audit trail, so a string of failed attempts on the controlled-drug register is visible after the fact.

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Forgot your PIN? (reset)

Usually: a practice manager or admin does the reset.

A forgotten PIN can't be recovered — it's reset, and you choose a new one.

Step by step

1. Ask someone with team-management permission (usually the practice manager or clinic owner).
2. They go to Settings → Team, find your row, click the three-dot menu (⋯) → Reset PIN.
3. Your old PIN (and any lockout) is cleared on the spot.
4. Next time the app needs your PIN — at sign-in or on the lock screen after you sign out and back in — you'll be asked to set a fresh one.

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Change your PIN

Usually: you, whenever you like.

Step by step

1. Go to Settings → Security.
2. In the Your PIN card, click Change PIN.
3. Type your current PIN, then the new PIN, then the new PIN again to confirm.
4. Click Change PIN.

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Change how quickly the clinic locks

Usually: admin or practice manager.

1. Go to Settings → Security.
2. In the Inactivity lock card, choose 15 minutes, 30 minutes or 1 hour.

This applies to everyone at the clinic. There's deliberately no "off" — the lock is part of keeping patient records private on shared computers. If your clinic works in long uninterrupted stretches away from the keyboard, choose 1 hour.

Only accounts that can manage clinic settings (admin / practice manager) see this card.

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The lock screen vs being signed out

The PIN lock and being signed out are two different layers:

• Short breaks → the PIN lock. After the inactivity-lock time above, the screen locks and your PIN gets you straight back in. You're still signed in underneath.
• Long gaps → a full sign-in. The clinic also has a Require sign-in window (same page, Sign out after: 4, 8, 12 or 24 hours — 8 by default). After that much inactivity your session ends completely, and coming back means signing in with your email and password again — the PIN alone won't do it. Overnight, for example, always means a fresh morning sign-in on the default setting.

Like the lock, this is decided on Wattle's servers per computer — closing the laptop lid or the browser doesn't get around it. Mobile vets using their own laptop who'd rather sign in less often can set the window to 24 hours; the PIN lock still guards the screen in between.

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See also: Signing in · The Schedule 8 register — PIN sign-off · Your team & permissions