diff --git a/cookies.go b/cookies.go
index 4e51470..9830099 100644
--- a/cookies.go
+++ b/cookies.go
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 )
 
 // ErrValueTooLong indicates that the cookie value exceeds the allowed length limit.
@@ -84,9 +85,8 @@ func GetCookie(r *http.Request) (UserCookie, error) {
 }
 
 // SetCookie sets an encrypted cookie with a user's email and token, using gob encoding for data serialization.
+// The Secure flag is controlled by the COOKIE_SECURE environment variable (defaults to true, set to false for local HTTP development).
 func SetCookie(w http.ResponseWriter, email string, token string) error {
-	// Initialize a User struct containing the data that we want to store in the
-	// cookie.
 	var err error
 
 	// check if template engine is enable
@@ -124,15 +124,36 @@ func SetCookie(w http.ResponseWriter, email string, token string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 
+	// Derive cookie MaxAge from JWT_LIFESPAN_MINUTES (default: 1440 min = 1 day)
+	maxAge := 1440 * 60 // default 1 day in seconds
+	lifetimeStr := os.Getenv("JWT_LIFESPAN_MINUTES")
+	if lifetimeStr != "" {
+		lifetime, parseErr := strconv.Atoi(lifetimeStr)
+		if parseErr == nil {
+			maxAge = lifetime * 60 // convert minutes to seconds
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Determine if the cookie should have the Secure flag.
+	// Set COOKIE_SECURE=false (or "0", "f") in your .env for local development over HTTP.
+	// Defaults to true for production safety.
+	cookieSecureStr := os.Getenv("COOKIE_SECURE")
+	if cookieSecureStr == "" {
+		cookieSecureStr = "true"
+	}
+	cookieSecure, _ := strconv.ParseBool(cookieSecureStr)
+
 	// Call buf.String() to get the gob-encoded value as a string and set it as
 	// the cookie value.
 	cookie := http.Cookie{
 		Name:     "goffee",
 		Value:    buf.String(),
 		Path:     "/",
-		MaxAge:   3600,
+		MaxAge:   maxAge,
+		Expires:  time.Now().Add(time.Duration(maxAge) * time.Second),
 		HttpOnly: true,
 		SameSite: http.SameSiteLaxMode,
+		Secure:   cookieSecure,
 	}
 
 	// Write an encrypted cookie containing the gob-encoded data as normal.