Microsoft will automatically keep you signed in to your account starting in February

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Microsoft is making some changes to the way you sign in to a Microsoft account next month. Starting in February, you will stay signed in to a Microsoft account automatically unless you sign out or use private browsing. It's a change that people will need to be aware of, especially if they're using a public computer.

Right now, if you sign in to a Microsoft account you'll always be asked if you want to stay signed in, so you don't have to sign in again next time. Microsoft's change to automatically keeping you signed in means you'll have to use a private browsing window on public PCs or make sure you remember to sign out once your session ends, otherwise the account will remain signed in.

If you do regularly use public PCs with your Outlook or Microsoft account then it's definitely time to start getting used to signing out or using a private browsing session (which you should really be doing anyway). If you mistakenly forget to sign out of a Microsoft account in February, you can always force your account to be signed out on all browsers, apps, and anywhere else it's being used apart from Xbox consoles.

Microsoft's latest change to its account sign-in process comes months after the company added passkey support to all of its consumer accounts. You can create passkeys for your Microsoft account by following this link, and you can choose your face, fingerprint, PIN, or a security key to use a device to sign in with a passkey.