Microsoft Accounts are the current iteration of the tech giant's single sign-in service. Previously known as Microsoft Passport, .NET Passport, Microsoft Passport Network, and Windows Live ID, the service was rebranded as Microsoft Accounts back in 2012 to coincide with the release of Windows 8.

It allows users who have an account to log into a wide range of services and apps using one single account—but its greatest strength arguably comes when used in conjunction with Windows.

But should you actually use one with the flagship operating system? And what about other benefits that derive from having one? MakeUseOf looks into the pros and cons…

The Pros of a Microsoft Account

First, let's look at some of the benefits of using a Microsoft Account with Windows.

Settings Sync Across All Devices

You know what it's like when you buy a new computer—it can take hours, days, or even weeks to get it set up exactly the way you like it. Operating systems are becoming more complex, which means the number of settings to customize is near-endless, while the personalization of things such as the Start Menu, desktop backgrounds, and networking options cannot be easily bypassed.

Logging into a machine with your Microsoft Account means that all this personalization moves with you and is automatically displayed on your new PC.

The syncing also extends beyond PCs. For example, if you use a Surface tablet, a Windows Phone, or any other Windows-powered device, your customization will also move there.

Windows Store Apps

The Windows Store apps have been much-criticized since their introduction in 2012, but the truth is that they've improved immensely in the last few years—you can now find a whole host of great Windows 10 apps hidden within the store's confines.

In Windows 10's early days, it was possible to use the Windows Store without a full-fledged Microsoft Account. Those days have passed.

At least using your account comes with some benefits. For example, if you install an app on your laptop, that app's icon will be automatically placed on your desktop's Start menu, and you just need to click it in order to install it. You will not need to search the store for a second time.

Cortana

Cortana is Microsoft's answer to Google Assistant and Apple's Siri. It's an "intelligent personal assistant" that's designed to do everything from helping you find files on your computer to telling you the best jokes of the day.

The catch is that Cortana needs you to use a Microsoft Account for it to function. As Microsoft writes on its own website, the reason Cortana currently needs you to use your account is because:

Cortana works best when you sign in and allow the use of data from your device and from Microsoft services, as well as from third-party services and skills you choose to connect. To provide you with personalized experiences, Cortana learns from certain data about you, such as your searches, calendar, contacts, and location. You’re in control of how much data you share with Cortana.

If you choose not to sign in to Cortana in Windows, you can still chat with Cortana and search the web, as well as documents and emails stored in Microsoft services like OneDrive, and Outlook, and on your Windows device.  If you don’t sign in, or if you choose to sign out, your experiences will be more limited and they won’t be personalized with your Cortana data. On iOS and Android devices, Cortana only works when you sign in.

Scary, huh? We'll come back to that later.

OneDrive

Using a Microsoft Account on Windows also unlocks the full potential of OneDrive.

The service started life as a cloud-based storage solution, but its list of features has grown exponentially, and it now offers Microsoft Account users a lot of benefits that extend beyond instant access to their files.

For example, using your account will allow you to access all the files saved on your computer remotely from any other computer in the world, and you can even access network locations if they're included in the PC's libraries or mapped as drives.

Furthermore, if set-up correctly, you can automatically send a photo taken on your phone up to the cloud and then into the OneDrive folder on your PC. That's both handy and time-saving.

Finally, it will also let you collaborate in real-time on Office documents.

Windows Native Apps

people app

Although it is possible to delete some of the "baked-in" Windows apps, they're designed to remain part of the operating system and will presumably be getting major new features and upgrades as the years go by. Such apps include Maps, Edge, and People.

Unsurprisingly, your experience with all the new apps is greatly enhanced if you use them in conjunction with a Microsoft Account. For example, if you use your account on People, your contacts will be accessible and in sync across all your Microsoft devices.

Other Microsoft Services

The nature of modern computing means that the boundaries between individual services are becoming increasingly blurred.

Previously standalone products such as Skype, Microsoft Office, Bing, and Outlook are now heavily integrated with Windows and each other.

The result is that logging into these services with your Microsoft Account leads to a fluid and seamless user experience, with your preferences and data on one app used to customize your participation on another.

For instance, you can interact with your Xbox friends on Windows via the app, sync your contacts from your address book with your contacts on Skype, or use your Bing search history to improve Cortana's machine learning.

Related: How to Safely Share Your Windows 10 PC With Separate User Accounts

The Cons of a Microsoft Account

So far, so good. But what about the downsides?

Privacy

One "con" rises above all others when people discuss the downside of using a Microsoft account—privacy.

While it's generally been well-received by critics, Windows 10 has come under scrutiny from some quarters for its approach to privacy and sensitive personal data. We've covered the wider points of Windows privacy criticisms previously, but the usage of a Microsoft Account undoubtedly raises its own concerns.

We mentioned the wording of the Microsoft Privacy Statement regarding Cortana earlier, and the wording of their Microsoft Account section isn't much better. Here are a few snippets from their statement:

Creating your Microsoft account: Some data you provide, such as your display name, email address, and phone number, can be used to help others find and connect with you within Microsoft products.

Signing in to Microsoft account: When you sign in to your Microsoft account, we create a record of your sign-in, which includes the date and time, information about the product you signed in to, your sign-in name, the unique number assigned to your account, a unique identifier assigned to your device, your IP address, and your operating system and browser version.

Using work or school accounts: If you use a Microsoft product with an account provided by an organisation you are affiliated with, such as your work or school account, that organisation can [...] control and administer your Microsoft product and product account, including controlling privacy-related settings of the product or product account [and] access and process your data, including the interaction data, diagnostic data, and the contents of your communications and files associated with your Microsoft product and product accounts.

There is clearly a juxtaposition here. While it is obviously true that reading the above can send a shiver down your spine, it is important for Microsoft to collect some data in order to provide you with a quality experience on the services you use.

Do they collect too much information? Possibly. Only you can decide whether or not the trade-off is worth it. And you can change several of Windows 10's default settings by using privacy tools.

Security

Almost as concerning as the aforementioned privacy issues are the potential pitfalls around security.

If you use your Microsoft Account on Windows, a thief or would-be hacker could get access to all your apps and services simply by knowing your password. Similarly, if you leave yourself logged in and haven't correctly set-up the various timeout settings, someone could sit down at your machine and have free reign across all your accounts.

Microsoft has tried to circumvent this by allowing users to set up a PIN code to log on to computers, rather than having to use their Microsoft-wide password, but there are clearly still inherent dangers.

Remember, You Can Use a Local Account

If you don't want to worry about the negative security implications of using a Windows 10 account, you can still use a local account on the operating system.

You can even delete your Microsoft Account entirely, though you will lose your data.