Microsoft released a new build to the Windows 11 Beta Insider Channel this week. One of the changes rolls out the new account manager of the Start Menu.
You may remember that Microsoft launched account related events already in the Start Menu of Windows 10 and 11. This feature advertises the benefits of using a Microsoft account to local users.
Users signed in with a Microsoft account get backup reminders. The backup feature uses Microsoft’s OneDrive feature.
Clearly, this feature is designed to drive Microsoft account conversions and also Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Backups require space and some users may need more than the free quota that Microsoft gives free Microsoft account users.
The new Windows 11 Start Menu account manager
Now comes the new Microsoft account manager. It replaces the current menu that opens when you click on the profile icon in the Start Menu.
Microsoft writes:
This update starts the roll out of the new account manager on Start menu. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, the new design gives you a quick glanceable view of your account benefits and makes it easy to manage account settings.
The new design displays information about the Microsoft account. In particular, it lists subscriptions and information about cloud storage.
There is also the obligatory reminder of “something” that the user needs to be aware of. It is possible that this is used for promotions, e.g., when a user is not subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Microsoft 365 yet. The text shown reminds the user to create recovery keys.
Something is missing: Microsoft does not mention it in its announcement, but the sign-out and account switching buttons are nowhere to be seen.
A click on the profile icon of the Start Menu shows options to sign out, switch to another user account, lock the device, or open the account settings.
Here is a screenshot of how this looks in Windows 11 Stable:
Microsoft moved the options behind the three-dots menu, at least for users signed-in to a Microsoft account.
The problem: this adds another click to the sign out, locking, and user switching process. Some users may also have problems locating the options once the change lands.
Closing Words
Call me disillusioned, but all of these changes do not sound particularly useful. Subscription information is already in the Settings app. There you also get banners in the new Homepage, which offers little for users, but another advertising space for Microsoft.
This change is not the only one that is currently in testing. Microsoft is also testing promoting apps in the recommended section of the Windows start menu.
There is also talk about a new taskbar button, which might also be used for recommendations, whatever that means in that context.
Are these changes beneficial to customers who use Windows? Or do they help Microsoft sell more subscriptions and increase the revenue of the Windows division?
What do you think about these changes?
“What do you think about these changes?”
At first and distant sight (I run Windows 7), nothing good. Should I ever switch to Windows 11(+) that it’d be without a Microsoft account, feasible it be, moreover if a sign-out is made impossible.
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“Call me disillusioned, but all of these changes do not sound particularly useful.(…)”
I won’t call you disillusioned but rather lucid, clear-headed, realistic. As always.