Accounts Basics

Accounts Basics
Windows 11 supports different types of accounts that can behave differently depending on how they're configured and used.

For example, you can sign in to Windows using a Microsoft account, a work or school account, or a local account. But you can also add additional online accounts to access email, apps, and other services from within that sign-in. And you can, of course, configure multiple sign-in accounts on the same PC, so that different users can have their own custom environments, apps, and data.

Complicating matters, each sign-in account is assigned a set of permissions that determines whether they have full administrative rights over the PC. And while many users who sign into Windows 11 will be using an online account, some still use an offline account, which comes with certain limitations.
Understand the different types of accounts
Confused? Let's step through the various types of accounts you'll encounter in Windows 11, and see how they interoperate and overlap.
Sign-in accounts
A sign-in account---sometimes called a user account---is an account you use to sign into Windows 11 on your PC. It can be a Microsoft account, a work or school account, or a local account.
Microsoft accounts are discussed further in Microsoft Accounts. Work or school accounts are discussed further in Work or School Accounts. And local accounts are discussed further in Local Accounts.
When a sign-in account has a password---which it should, though passwords are optional with local accounts only---you are required to create a PIN so that you can sign in more easily. You are also optionally asked to use other forms of Windows Hello authentication, including facial and fingerprint recognition, depending on the capabilities of your PC.
You can learn more about PINs and facial and fingerprint recognition in Windows Hello and Dynamic Lock.
Online and offline accounts
Windows 11 supports both online and offline accounts. Both types can be used to sign into Windows 11. But email and app accounts are only online accounts.

An online account is an account that can only be created when you are online. Microsoft accounts and work or school accounts are both online accounts.

A local account is the only offline account type and it can only be used to sign into Windows 11. Unlike online accounts, offline accounts can be created when offline.
Managed and unmanaged accounts
A managed account is an account that is centrally managed by some commercial entity. Microsoft accounts and work or school accounts are considered managed accounts.

Microsoft maintains a light touch when it comes to managing PCs for individuals. But the organizations that own work or school accounts apply management policies to a PC when one is used to sign in. Users with managed work or school accounts can still personalize Windows 11 to some degree, but some aspects of the system can be dictated by the managing organization.

An unmanaged account is an account th...