How Do I Create a Local Account in Windows 10?

✅ The ability to create a local user account on Windows hasn't been removed; it's just not obvious where to find it.

✅ Creating a Windows local account
Local user accounts are still available in Windows.

“Add, edit, or remove other users” in Windows Settings.
Add a user.
Decline both attempts to use a Microsoft account: “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” and “Add a user without a Microsoft account”.
Create an account with a traditional username and password.
Sign in to the account to complete its setup and confirm it’s working.

Chapters
0:00 Local user account in windows 10
0:30 What is a local account?
1:00 Creating a new user account
1:50 Add a user without a microsoft account
2:39 Making it admin
3:00 Sign out and back in
4:48 A caution

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[pessie]

But do you also have to install your software that you previously installed under your Microsoft account?

[marcfazon]

I did this however my local account is not an option to be clicked. Can anyone help?

[darkalligator]

I just have an account to install Windows to any pc, then just switch to local.

[reddawn]

I legit searched this several days ago

[skaboosh]

This is because i don't want to be attached to those devils all the time, it's not for the reasons given, why should they be in our lives ENDLESSLY?

[coke]

Hi Leo, I have a question regarding this topic. I decided to create a disk backup using a program and wiped the drive to fresh install Windows. Unfortunately, I was unable to transfer my old files to the new installation. Firstly, my original installation was under my Microsoft account, and I wanted to create a local account instead. When trying to transfer files, it would freeze halfway through, stuck at 0 bytes and unable to proceed without showing an error. And then, when trying to transfer the folder under C:\Users\MyUsername, it would not let me access it at all, saying I had to have permission. And when going through to add "Administrators" it would pop up that certain files were write protected, and it would be hundreds or thousands of files I had to click "OK" to. Is there a way to remove this limitation so that I can access the files on a new local account? Or do I need to fresh insteall Windows and sign in to the same Microsoft account to access the files?

[PurpleWarlock]

I was stuck on a Safe mode loop as it didn't load up the wifi for the Microsoft login. Had to make a USB bootable drive and enable an admin account. It was a nightmare.

[kencominsky]

Hi Leo, I found this video while searching for answers to another topic (which I'll get to shortly). Although I agree with you 99.9% of the time, I have to respectfully disagree with your assertion that you should only use your MS account to avoid confusion and here's why: in the past, it was clearly stated by most security experts that one of the best ways to protect yourself from malware was to NOT surf the internet as a user with ADMIN privileges. Seems obvious why. I therefore have always created a local account that is defined as a STANDARD user to limit damage if I do catch a virus. Is this reasoning no longer valid? Have things changed to the point where it's okay to surf the web as an administrator? Please advise if there's a better way of working versus my approach. If it's okay with you, I'll hold off on my other topic to wait for your reply to this one. Thank you so much for your thoughts and insights.

[JimE]

Thanks Leo. I had issues with logging in with my Microsoft account a couple of months ago. The issue was I could not get it to login automatically at startup no matter what I did after researching the issue. It would always stop and want me to enter a password. Annoying to me.
I kept seeing solutions telling me to go to a screen and click login without a password but that screen would not show on my computer.
I finally got it to work with a local account and no password but it is not like it use to be. I believe this all started right after a Win10 update. I really wish they would quit screwing with settings during updates.
Can you have more than one local account? Thanks for the info. JimE