diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 842628a..594bf3c 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
 CLIENT_ID=
 CLIENT_SECRET=
-DOMAIN=https://tegakituesday.com/
\ No newline at end of file
+DOMAIN=https://tegakituesday.com/
+# head -c64 /dev/urandom | base64
+SECRET=
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 7476d2b..38915e5 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -309,8 +309,10 @@ impl User {
 
 #[launch]
 fn rocket() -> _ {
-    let config = rocket::Config::figment().merge(("port", 1313));
     dotenv::dotenv().expect("Failed to load .env file");
+    let config = rocket::Config::figment()
+        .merge(("port", 1313))
+        .merge(("secret_key", env::var("SECRET").expect("Must have SECRET defined in .env for private cookie persistence")));
     rocket::custom(config)
         .mount(
             "/",