- Some Home windows 11 customers received the impression Notepad now requires logging into your Microsoft account
- This isn’t true, however the app simply received a brand new AI function that does require such a sign-in
- There’s nonetheless a good bit of anger about Microsoft including an increasing number of capabilities to Notepad when it’s designed to be a streamlined textual content editor
Is the thought of Home windows 11 customers now having to register to make use of the Notepad app a brand new scheme concocted by Microsoft to harass people? Luckily, this very a lot isn’t the case, although many individuals have jumped to this conclusion.
Register with a Microsoft Account for Notepad?! 🙄 pic.twitter.com/VfZVM44EC0February 16, 2025
The prospect was raised by BobPony who (together with different denizens of X) identified that after the latest replace for the Notepad app, it was now asking them to register to their Microsoft account.
This instantly attracted a substantial quantity of anger, as a result of the entire idea of Notepad is that it’s a super-streamlined textual content editor you possibly can shortly hearth up and use. So, not solely is that this a stumbling block operating in opposition to the elemental design of Notepad in that respect, however some people don’t have or desire a Microsoft account both.
Whereas that is certainly occurring to some Home windows 11 customers, the rationale for that is defined within the textual content accompanying the pop-up requesting login, which states: “Register together with your Microsoft account to make use of Rewrite and its options in Notepad.”
The Notepad replace has introduced within the capacity to make use of Rewrite, which is a Copilot function that will get the AI to redraft any chosen textual content (an capacity seen in testing with Home windows 11 late final 12 months).
As Tom’s {Hardware}, which observed the above publish on X, factors out, this dialog immediate solely seems for many who are clicking the Rewrite button in Notepad.
Additionally, if you happen to do see this dialog, and don’t wish to register as requested, you possibly can merely shut it. You gained’t be capable to use the Rewrite function, although, except you do register to your Microsoft account.
Evaluation: Notepad going within the unsuitable route?
In some ways, then, this can be a storm in a teacup situation – however there may be an underlying cause why folks may be simply angered right here. Firstly, there’s been a broader push to persuade people to enroll in a Microsoft account, together with a bunch of ‘ideas’ infiltrating Home windows 11 in varied bits of the interface.
So, something like that is going to harass some customers, assured, although Microsoft notes {that a} sign-in is important to make use of the Rewrite functionality because of “AI security and safety functions” (pertaining to any requests you make).
Secondly, once more this incident (or lack of an incident is a greater solution to describe it, maybe) from a wider perspective, it’s one other pushback in opposition to Notepad getting beefed up. As talked about above, the entire thought of Notepad is that it’s a barebones and light-weight textual content editor, and but Microsoft has stored on including further trimmings because the launch of Home windows 11.
That features the likes of darkish mode, multi-step undo, and spellchecking plus autocorrect, and now we’ve got the talked about AI rewriting function in Notepad. And no, in fact, you don’t have to make use of any of those components, however the fear is, they’re nonetheless hanging round within the background and probably bloating Notepad extra in order that it isn’t fairly as peppy and responsive because it as soon as was. (Though Microsoft has, at the least, just lately tweaked the app to load a bit sooner).
That’s why you possibly can see a few of these replying to the publish on X are urging anybody who’s fed up with this new path WordPad seems to be on to think about Notepad++ as a substitute. Certainly, I’d throw within the prime suggestion from our checklist of the finest textual content editors too, specifically Chic Textual content.
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