Microsoft is shaking things up once more after its odd decision to rebrand Office (again). This time, it’s changing how signing into your Microsoft account works.
According to a Microsoft support article, the familiar “Stay signed in?” prompt is going away, leaving users signed in by default unless they log out or use private browsing.
Don’t forget to sign out
Previously, the “Stay signed in?” prompt gave users the option to maintain or end their session after each login. Without it, users would stay logged in until they manually log off or use private browsing, putting the onus on users to stay up-to-date with all of their logged-in devices.
Users who forget to sign out can still secure their account remotely through Microsoft’s privacy settings page, which allows users to sign out from all locations, except for Xbox consoles, which remain unaffected by this change.
While this may streamline access on personal devices, it raises security concerns for public or shared devices. Forgetting to sign out after using a shared device could expose users’ accounts to unauthorized access. Microsoft advises users to either sign out manually or switch to private browsing, such as Incognito mode on Google Chrome, when using public devices because that won’t save browsing history, personal data, or logged-in sessions.
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While the update enforces a golden rule of online security—always sign out on shared devices—it’s easy to see how it might lead to accidental lapses. Vigilance is essential for those who use public computers or shared devices, now even more so.
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Fortunately, there is a way to skip Microsoft account sign-in on a new Windows device. I’ve not tried it myself (have an old laptop that didn’t ask that nonsense) but seen it done. Takes a few moments.