Slashdot: Windows 10 Users Fume: Microsoft, Where's Our 'Local Account' Option Gone?

Windows 10 Users Fume: Microsoft, Where's Our 'Local Account' Option Gone?
Published on September 30, 2019 at 11:10PM
New submitter xack shares a report: Microsoft has annoyed some of its 900 million Windows 10 device users after apparently removing the 'Use offline account' as part of its effort to herd users towards its cloud-based Microsoft Account. The offline local account is specific to one device, while the Microsoft Account can be used to log in to multiple devices and comes with the benefit of Microsoft's recent work on passwordless authentication with Windows Hello. The local account doesn't require an internet connection or an email address -- just a username and password that are stored on the PC. But Windows 10 users are annoyed that Microsoft has hidden the local account option when setting up a new PC or reinstalling Windows 10. A user on a popular Reddit thread notes that the local account option is now invisible if the device is connected to the internet. "Either run the setup without being connected to the internet, or type in a fake phone number a few times and it will give you the prompt to create a local account," Froggyowns suggested as a solution.

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