I will not reward what I view as borderline abusive behavior with compliance. I am uninterested in joining the Greater Microsoft Data Conglomerate beyond the level I’m already forced to participate in. The requirement to do so is an unacceptable intrusion into what’s supposed to be the user’s personal computer. The option to create a Windows login via an online account is great. It has deployed “Get Windows 10” tools that were so aggressive, they acted more like malware than a product built by a Fortune 500 company. It has deployed installers that hid the option to create a local account unless you were offline when you ran setup. It has obfuscated the ability to create a local account by hiding it in unclear language. My problem with Microsoft and non-local accounts is this: Since the introduction of Windows 10, Microsoft has pulled every dirty trick in the book. As far as I’m aware, using a Microsoft account instead of a local account does not risk your personal privacy or security. There have been no privacy or security scandals caused by the use of a Microsoft account instead of a local account.

While there were some telemetry concerns with Windows 10 initially, the company addressed them in later updates. I’m not accusing Microsoft of having spied on users or abused its data-gathering capabilities. The other reason I won’t use an online account is that Microsoft won’t stop trying to force me to use one.

Can t sign into my microsoft account