Windows 11 to nag local users to switch to Microsoft account

• Windows 11 to show Microsoft account benefits to local account users.
• The notification has four different variants and will be available from the Start menu.
• Microsoft account users will also get similar notifications, but for backing up files to OneDrive.

Windows 11 will soon begin showing notifications to switch to a Microsoft account in the Start menu for users with local accounts. Although you can set up an installation with a local account, Microsoft really wants you to use a Microsoft account to show you personalized ads and collect additional information about you.

The new notifications will appear in the user profile menu in the Start menu. If you use a local account, eventually, you will notice an amber badge notification in the profile picture icon. Inside the menu, you may see up to four different notifications, including “Sign in to your Microsoft account,” “Use Microsoft 365 for free,” “Keep your account safer,” and “Access your files from anywhere.”

According to the company, these notifications will remind you of the benefits of using an online-connected account. However, they seem to be more ways to lure users into using the different products.

You will notice a “Remind me later” option that will remove these notifications from the profile menu, but it’s not a permanent option. However, in the “Start” settings page, the company is adding a new “Show account-related notifications” option that may be related to the notifications for local accounts that could disable these alerts permanently.

The new notifications are available starting with build 23435 in the Dev Channel, but it’s unclear when these changes will arrive in the stable channel.

In addition to the different types of notifications for users with a local account, the software giant is also experimenting with similar badges for devices configured with a Microsoft account that will instead remind users to back up their files to OneDrive.

Although these alerts are not the same as those for local users, it continues the trend of trying to lure users into using Microsoft services, in this case, OneDrive.