Microsoft has been pushing hard for its users to sign into Windows with a Microsoft Account. The newest Windows 11 installer removed the easy bypass to the requirement that you make an account or login with your existing account. If you didn’t install Windows 11 without a Microsoft Account and now want to stop sending the company your data, you can still switch to a local account after the fact. Microsoft even had instructions on how to do this on its official support website - or at least it used to…
Windows is not nearly as profitable as platforms like Azure, 365, and business sales like Visual Studio. And most people don’t buy Windows licenses, they get them bundled from the OEM. So Microsoft can monetize the user by collecting and selling their date instead.
It’s incredibly short-sighted of them. Windows is the gateway to easy integration, especially with 365. Drive people away from Windows, it could ultimately start driving people away from Microsoft services.
If Microsoft would just recognize that at this point, operating systems are a commodity and loss-leader, it might inspire them to de-enshittify Windows and focus exactly on the services you mentioned.