What potential pitfalls should be considered when trying to determine the online status of a user using binary data from an image in PHP?

One potential pitfall to consider when determining the online status of a user using binary data from an image in PHP is that the user may have multiple devices or may not have updated their status in real-time, leading to inaccuracies. To mitigate this, it's important to regularly update the online status based on more reliable data sources such as user activity or login timestamps.

// Example code snippet to update online status based on user activity
function updateOnlineStatus($userId) {
    // Check user activity or login timestamps to determine online status
    $isOnline = checkUserActivity($userId);

    // Update the online status in the database
    if ($isOnline) {
        // Update user's online status to 'online'
    } else {
        // Update user's online status to 'offline'
    }
}

function checkUserActivity($userId) {
    // Implement logic to check user activity or login timestamps
    // Return true if user is considered online, false if offline
}