Do not fall for social media influencers falsely claiming that the Notepad app on Windows 11 requires a Microsoft account to work. That’s not the case. In a statement to Windows Latest, a Microsoft support official clarified that Notepad does NOT require you to set up a Microsoft account in order to use the text editor on Windows 11.
An X user, TheBobPony, claimed that Notepad is now requiring users to sign in with a Microsoft account to keep using it. It turns out this is yet another false claim, which has been viewed by thousands of users on Elon Musk’s social media platform. As of writing this post, we do not see a community note on their post.
I regularly use Notepad because it’s really good, and it has only gotten better over the past few years, especially in 2024. Notepad now has tabs, a built-in spell checker, the ability to look up words on Bing.com, and a new settings page that lets you control how Notepad works.
I am only highlighting some of the biggest changes, but if you compare Notepad on Windows 11 with the Windows 10 version, you’ll also notice several minor improvements.
In addition to these quality improvements, Notepad has a “Rewrite” feature that allows you to use built-in ChatGPT to rewrite your content, change the tone, and make your sentences longer or shorter to match your writing style. It doesn’t have a prompt button, so you cannot change the narrative of the content entirely.
Notepad’s “Rewrite” is powered by Microsoft’s AI credit system, so it doesn’t work if you do not sign in to the Microsoft account, which is fair enough. How is it possible for Microsoft to limit abuse and track usage if it doesn’t ask users to log in to a Microsoft account?
As shown in the above screenshot, as soon as you click the “Rewrite” button in Notepad, you’re asked to sign into a Microsoft account, with the company noting:
“Sign in with your Microsoft account to use Rewrite and its features in Notepad. When you’re signed in, Microsoft will collect information about your requests for Al safety and security purposes,” the description of the feature reads with a continue button.
This feature also requires you to pay for Microsoft 365, which now includes Copilot, so you’ll see a “View plans” button if you do not have an existing subscription.
I asked Microsoft if it plans to make a Microsoft account mandatory for regular Notepad usage, and the company denied such rumours.
There are no plans to force a Microsoft account, and Microsoft does not send your data to its servers when you use Notepad on Windows 11. Notepad remains completely private and secure.
However, if you pay for a Microsoft 365 subscription, and you click the AI-powered Rewrite button, then sign in to your Microsoft account, and rewrite sentences in Notepad using AI after accepting privacy terms and conditions, the selected sentences will be scanned for AI for safety and security purposes.
It’s also worth noting that Notepad with AI isn’t available for everyone yet, and it’s still rolling out in stages. For privacy reasons, the feature is not really accessible outside the United States, particularly in European countries.
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