diff --git a/src/base/preferences.cpp b/src/base/preferences.cpp
index ec2fe2493859..6357ff47ed4b 100644
--- a/src/base/preferences.cpp
+++ b/src/base/preferences.cpp
@@ -764,6 +764,7 @@ void Preferences::setWebUIUsername(const QString &username)
         return;
 
     setValue(u"Preferences/WebUI/Username"_s, username);
+    m_credentialsChanged = true;
 }
 
 QByteArray Preferences::getWebUIPassword() const
@@ -777,6 +778,7 @@ void Preferences::setWebUIPassword(const QByteArray &password)
         return;
 
     setValue(u"Preferences/WebUI/Password_PBKDF2"_s, password);
+    m_credentialsChanged = true;
 }
 
 int Preferences::getWebUIMaxAuthFailCount() const
@@ -1977,5 +1979,11 @@ void Preferences::setAddNewTorrentDialogSavePathHistoryLength(const int value)
 void Preferences::apply()
 {
     if (SettingsStorage::instance()->save())
+    {
         emit changed();
+        if (m_credentialsChanged) {
+            emit webCredentialsChanged();
+            m_credentialsChanged = false;
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/src/base/preferences.h b/src/base/preferences.h
index a0ee4d0afa27..6f33c4ea6f83 100644
--- a/src/base/preferences.h
+++ b/src/base/preferences.h
@@ -430,7 +430,10 @@ public slots:
 
 signals:
     void changed();
+    void webCredentialsChanged();
 
 private:
     static Preferences *m_instance;
+
+    bool m_credentialsChanged = false;
 };
diff --git a/src/webui/api/authcontroller.cpp b/src/webui/api/authcontroller.cpp
index eb1d1baf2376..5b66c15132db 100644
--- a/src/webui/api/authcontroller.cpp
+++ b/src/webui/api/authcontroller.cpp
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ void AuthController::loginAction()
     {
         m_clientFailedLogins.remove(clientAddr);
 
-        m_sessionManager->sessionStart();
+        m_sessionManager->sessionStart(true);
         setResult(u"Ok."_s);
         LogMsg(tr("WebAPI login success. IP: %1").arg(clientAddr));
     }
diff --git a/src/webui/api/isessionmanager.h b/src/webui/api/isessionmanager.h
index 64396a7da9df..fb28ab302a07 100644
--- a/src/webui/api/isessionmanager.h
+++ b/src/webui/api/isessionmanager.h
@@ -43,6 +43,6 @@ struct ISessionManager
     virtual ~ISessionManager() = default;
     virtual QString clientId() const = 0;
     virtual ISession *session() = 0;
-    virtual void sessionStart() = 0;
+    virtual void sessionStart(bool authenticated) = 0;
     virtual void sessionEnd() = 0;
 };
diff --git a/src/webui/webapplication.cpp b/src/webui/webapplication.cpp
index ddcf391768e2..2c7bd219c6cf 100644
--- a/src/webui/webapplication.cpp
+++ b/src/webui/webapplication.cpp
@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ WebApplication::WebApplication(IApplication *app, QObject *parent)
 
     configure();
     connect(Preferences::instance(), &Preferences::changed, this, &WebApplication::configure);
+    connect(Preferences::instance(), &Preferences::webCredentialsChanged, this, &WebApplication::logoutAllSessions);
 
     m_sessionCookieName = Preferences::instance()->getWebAPISessionCookieName();
     if (!isValidCookieName(m_sessionCookieName))
@@ -435,9 +436,29 @@ void WebApplication::configure()
         }
     }
 
-    m_isLocalAuthEnabled = pref->isWebUILocalAuthEnabled();
-    m_isAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled = pref->isWebUIAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled();
-    m_authSubnetWhitelist = pref->getWebUIAuthSubnetWhitelist();
+    const bool isLocalAuthEnabled = pref->isWebUILocalAuthEnabled();
+    const bool isAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled = pref->isWebUIAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled();
+    const auto authSubnetWhitelist = pref->getWebUIAuthSubnetWhitelist();
+    if (((isLocalAuthEnabled != m_isLocalAuthEnabled) && isLocalAuthEnabled) ||
+        ((isAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled != m_isAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled) && !isAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled) ||
+        ((authSubnetWhitelist != m_authSubnetWhitelist) && !m_authSubnetWhitelist.isEmpty()))
+    {
+        // remove sessions which bypassed authentication
+        Algorithm::removeIf(m_sessions, [](const QString &, const WebSession *session)
+        {
+            if (!session->isAuthenticated())
+            {
+                delete session;
+                return true;
+            }
+
+            return false;
+        });
+    }
+
+    m_isLocalAuthEnabled = isLocalAuthEnabled;
+    m_isAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled = isAuthSubnetWhitelistEnabled;
+    m_authSubnetWhitelist = authSubnetWhitelist;
     m_sessionTimeout = pref->getWebUISessionTimeout();
 
     m_domainList = pref->getServerDomains().split(u';', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
@@ -525,6 +546,12 @@ void WebApplication::configure()
     }
 }
 
+void WebApplication::logoutAllSessions()
+{
+    qDeleteAll(m_sessions);
+	m_sessions.clear();
+}
+
 void WebApplication::declarePublicAPI(const QString &apiPath)
 {
     m_publicAPIs << apiPath;
@@ -677,7 +704,7 @@ void WebApplication::sessionInitialize()
     }
 
     if (!m_currentSession && !isAuthNeeded())
-        sessionStart();
+        sessionStart(false);
 }
 
 QString WebApplication::generateSid() const
@@ -710,7 +737,7 @@ bool WebApplication::isPublicAPI(const QString &scope, const QString &action) co
     return m_publicAPIs.contains(u"%1/%2"_s.arg(scope, action));
 }
 
-void WebApplication::sessionStart()
+void WebApplication::sessionStart(bool authenticated)
 {
     Q_ASSERT(!m_currentSession);
 
@@ -726,7 +753,7 @@ void WebApplication::sessionStart()
         return false;
     });
 
-    m_currentSession = new WebSession(generateSid(), app());
+    m_currentSession = new WebSession(generateSid(), app(), authenticated);
     m_sessions[m_currentSession->id()] = m_currentSession;
 
     m_currentSession->registerAPIController(u"app"_s, new AppController(app(), this));
@@ -911,9 +938,10 @@ QHostAddress WebApplication::resolveClientAddress() const
 
 // WebSession
 
-WebSession::WebSession(const QString &sid, IApplication *app)
+WebSession::WebSession(const QString &sid, IApplication *app, bool authenticated)
     : ApplicationComponent(app)
     , m_sid {sid}
+    , m_authenticated {authenticated}
 {
     updateTimestamp();
 }
@@ -935,6 +963,11 @@ void WebSession::updateTimestamp()
     m_timer.start();
 }
 
+bool WebSession::isAuthenticated() const
+{
+    return m_authenticated;
+}
+
 void WebSession::registerAPIController(const QString &scope, APIController *controller)
 {
     Q_ASSERT(controller);
diff --git a/src/webui/webapplication.h b/src/webui/webapplication.h
index 80530b15dd3e..493ec99fd5b4 100644
--- a/src/webui/webapplication.h
+++ b/src/webui/webapplication.h
@@ -71,12 +71,13 @@ namespace BitTorrent
 class WebSession final : public ApplicationComponent<QObject>, public ISession
 {
 public:
-    explicit WebSession(const QString &sid, IApplication *app);
+    explicit WebSession(const QString &sid, IApplication *app, bool authenticated);
 
     QString id() const override;
 
     bool hasExpired(qint64 seconds) const;
     void updateTimestamp();
+    bool isAuthenticated() const;
 
     void registerAPIController(const QString &scope, APIController *controller);
     APIController *getAPIController(const QString &scope) const;
@@ -84,6 +85,7 @@ class WebSession final : public ApplicationComponent<QObject>, public ISession
 private:
     const QString m_sid;
     QElapsedTimer m_timer;  // timestamp
+    bool m_authenticated;
     QMap<QString, APIController *> m_apiControllers;
 };
 
@@ -106,10 +108,13 @@ class WebApplication final : public ApplicationComponent<QObject>
     void setUsername(const QString &username);
     void setPasswordHash(const QByteArray &passwordHash);
 
+public slots:
+    void logoutAllSessions();
+
 private:
     QString clientId() const override;
     WebSession *session() override;
-    void sessionStart() override;
+    void sessionStart(bool authenticated) override;
     void sessionEnd() override;
 
     void doProcessRequest();