Microsoft account or local account? Adding another user to your PC
When you set up Windows, you choose how you sign in. Knowing the difference helps when you share a PC or want to keep things private.
Microsoft account
This is your email address and password with Microsoft (Outlook, Hotmail, Xbox or a work account). It lets you:
- Sync settings, and sign in to OneDrive and the Microsoft Store.
- Find a lost laptop and recover a forgotten password.
- Keep your drive recovery key safe.
It is the usual choice, and Windows 11 Home normally needs one when you set up the PC.
Local account
This exists only on that one computer, with a username and password that Microsoft never sees. It cannot sync, and there is no online way to reset a forgotten password. That is why a Microsoft account is safer for most people.
Check which one you use
Open Settings, then Accounts, then Your info. If you see an email address, it is a Microsoft account. It will say Local account if not.
Add another person
Give every person their own account, so documents and passwords stay separate.
- Windows 11: open Settings, Accounts, Other users, then Add account.
- Windows 10: open Settings, Accounts, Family & other users, then Add someone else to this PC.
- Enter their Microsoft account email, or choose the option to add them without one if you are offered it.
- Leave them as a Standard user. Only change someone to Administrator if they genuinely need to install software.
Remove an account carefully
In the same menu, you can remove a user. Warning: this deletes that person's files from this PC, including their Desktop, Documents and Pictures. Copy anything important first, and make sure they agree.
Your info may offer Sign in with a local account instead, or Sign in with a Microsoft account instead. Your files stay where they are, but you will need to sign in to OneDrive and other apps again.
When to get more help
Get in touch if you cannot remember which account you used, if the sign-in screen shows accounts you do not recognise, or if you need to move files between accounts. Always back up before removing an account.