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Uhm, do I need to log into my account once within a two-year period on their website? or does it consider my PC with a Microsoft account as login in? Because I'm always logged in to my PC.
Published: July 01, 2019
Effective: August 30, 2019
This Microsoft account activity policy describes when Microsoft may close your account due to account inactivity. You may choose to close your Microsoft account at any time on the Microsoft account management website and Microsoft may close your account for other reasons as permitted under the Microsoft Services Agreement (“MSA”).
Microsoft account activity policy: Under the MSA, you must use your Microsoft account to keep it “active.” Microsoft reserves the right to close all “inactive” Microsoft accounts. Please see section (4)(a)(iv)(2) of the MSA for the consequences of a closed Microsoft account. Except as provided below, you must sign in to your Microsoft account at least once in a two-year period to keep your account active. If you don’t sign in during this time, Microsoft will consider your account to be inactive.
Exceptions: The activities below are exceptions that will result in Microsoft extending your account’s active status, even if you have not otherwise signed in to your Microsoft account within a two-year period.
- Purchases. If you have used your Microsoft account to purchase, or to redeem or access a purchase of, a current Microsoft product or service, your Microsoft account will remain active and Microsoft will not close your account due to inactivity. Note, this does not apply to gift cards, certifications or subscription-based purchases or services.
- Subscriptions. Your Microsoft account will continue to remain active for so long as you have an active Microsoft subscription associated with your Microsoft account. Following the expiration or termination of the subscription, you must sign in to your Microsoft account at least once in a two-year period to keep your account active.
- Publishing to the Microsoft Store. If you have used your Microsoft account to publish applications or games (including game DLCs) to the Microsoft Store or to register for a Microsoft Partner Center account, your Microsoft account will remain active and Microsoft will not close your account due to inactivity.
- Certifications. If you earn a certification from Microsoft using your Microsoft account, your Microsoft account will remain active and Microsoft will not close your account due to inactivity.
- Account Balance. Your Microsoft account will continue to remain active for so long as you have an unspent balance in your Microsoft account (e.g. from a Microsoft gift card or a credit from Microsoft). If you live in a jurisdiction where gift cards are considered “unclaimed property,” Microsoft will, pursuant to local law, escheat the unspent balance associated with your Microsoft gift card.
- Accounts Payable. Your Microsoft account will continue to remain active for so long as there is an amount owed to you by Microsoft associated with your Microsoft account (e.g. amounts due to you from Microsoft Payment Central).
- Family Accounts. If you have an inactive Microsoft account that has granted consent for an active Microsoft account belonging to a minor, Microsoft will not close your Microsoft account due to your inactivity. Your inactive Microsoft account will be kept open by Microsoft until the minor’s account (i) is deemed inactive and closed by Microsoft, (ii) is closed by you, or (iii) transitions into a standard Microsoft account when the minor reaches the requisite age of majority in their region.
- Legal Requirements or as otherwise provided by Microsoft. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Microsoft reserves the right to maintain your account status as active, or not to close an inactive account, as required by applicable law or regulation, or as otherwise provided by Microsoft to you.
Your Current Activity Status: You may always review the activity status of your Microsoft account by navigating to the Microsoft account management website. Your activity status will show you how frequently you need to sign in to your account to prevent your account from being deemed inactive. Please note that it may take up to thirty (30) days for any recent purchases or other account activity to be reflected in your activity status.
Source: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ctivity-policy
See also: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...t-doesnt-exist
Uhm, do I need to log into my account once within a two-year period on their website? or does it consider my PC with a Microsoft account as login in? Because I'm always logged in to my PC.
Hello Faith,
It doesn't really specify this, but I would assume signing in to Windows 10 with your Microsoft account with an Internet connection would be considered activity.
I hope so! I would be all kinds of mad if all of the sudden my account got suspended because of "inactivity", even though I'm active with my MS account on my PC. Surely they thought of this? Hopefully they'll notify users ahead of any closure.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13811
Could your account be closed or deleted?
If you previously closed your Microsoft account, you have 60 days from that closure to sign in and reopen it. After that 60 days, your account and data are permanently deleted.
If you haven't signed in to your account in a long time, it might have been deleted due to inactivity:
If the last time you signed in was your account expires before June 2014 after 1 year of inactivity between June 2014–August 2015 after 2 years of inactivity after August 2015 after 5 years of inactivity
I only use a local account.
Does using MS Store to download/update FREE apps count!
I occasionally log in to my MS account using a browser, but not often, especially since I have stopped using Windows Phone!
Regarding the MS Account -
"Except as provided below, you must sign in to your Microsoft account at least once in a two-year period to keep your account active."
I believe that logging in and out counts as activity.
Just check on one or two items and then you're done.
My suggestion would be to do this once every 6 months, just to be safe.
As a test I signed in to my other 3 MS accounts I created about 4 years ago (1 for each windows installation) and have never really used.
The Accounts are still fully functional however the OneDrive account associated with each account has been deleted by Microsoft.
I sign into my Microsoft account daily on Desktop, check status of devices off and on, and such, and think i'm safe hopefully
Seems a bit vague to me as to what they count as activity? I would assume that logging in on a Microsoft Account should be sufficient however that isn't mentioned.