php.ini simple question

session.gc_maxlifetime = 1440 ; after this number of seconds, stored ; data will be seen as 'garbage' and ; cleaned up by the gc process Is this the lifetime of the session if it's inactive? In other words if a user jumps from page to page do they have 1440 seconds to go from page to page before the session becomes inactive? Or is it the lifetime of the session from the moment the user starts a new session? In other words is the total amount of time the user has for the whole site 1440 seconds? Thanks, Jay Paulson