diff --git a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
index 535a75b6..dd1f5967 100644
--- a/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/application_controller.rb
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ class ApplicationController < ActionController::Base
       elsif params[:authToken]
         user = Token.find_by_value(params[:authToken]).user
         set_autologin_cookie(user)
-        session[:user_id] = user.id
+        start_user_session(user)
       end
     end
     if user.nil? && Setting.rest_api_enabled? && accept_api_auth?