Final answer:
PHP sessions temporarily store user information on the server, not permanently. They use a unique identifier passed via a cookie to maintain data for the duration of a session, which ends with session termination or expiration.
Step-by-step explanation:
No, a PHP session does not permanently store user information on the server. PHP sessions store data on the server temporarily. During a session, the server creates a unique identifier for each user's session which is typically passed to the user's computer via a cookie. The PHP session mechanism allows you to store data between multiple requests, but this data is cleared when the session is terminated or after it has expired, which happens after a configured amount of time or when the user closes their browser.
Sessions are a way to carry information across different web pages but they are not meant for long-term storage. For persistent storage of user information, one would typically use a database or some other form of file-based or memory-based storage systems.