What is the difference between a Microsoft account and a local account?

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-02

First of all, in a word:Local accounts only exist locally, while Microsoft accounts can go to the cloud, but it's not an either/or relationship, you can use them on the same computer at the same time.

Microsoft accountIt is a global account that can be used to log in to all services and products provided by Microsoft, such as Windows, Office 365, OneDrive, etc. Once you're signed in, many of your settings, files, and apps can be synced to your other devices.

For example, if I edit a Word document on my desktop computer and I'm signed in to my Microsoft account, I can continue to view and edit the document in OneDrive on other devices. There is no need to copy files on a USB stick.

So ifIf you often need to use Microsoft services and products, such as Office 365, or if you have multiple devices that need to sync settings and files, then using a Microsoft account is more convenient.

And local accountsis a traditional account type that only works on your personal computer, and the settings and files of the local account are only saved on your computer and are not shared with other services or devices on the internet.

Creating a new local account is a very regular operation, and it has:Privacy, independence, simplicityIf you don't need to sync data between multiple devices, then it is enough to create and use a local account directly.

However, if you occasionally need to sync files and settings, or use certain Microsoft services, you can also sign in to your Microsoft account at any time.

In short, although Microsoft accounts and local accounts have their own use characteristics, they are not mutually exclusive, and the combination of the two can achieve twice the result with half the effort. Computer literacy

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