Microsoft has announced that its Microsoft account service now has 1 billion users across commercial and consumer accounts. The company says that it is adding between 200 and 300 million new accounts per year.
The first account was registered in 1999, and the company launched the service officially in 2006. At the time there were 30 million SkyDrive users and over 260 million Hotmail users, both of which were then included under the Microsoft account umbrella.
The launch of Windows 11 and the Surface devices has resulted in a marked increase in Microsoft account sign-ups over the past few months, with 400 million accounts being added since September 2014 alone.
Microsoft is also working on retiring its Windows Live ID system and replacing it with a single login for all of its services, and recently announced a new feature called Account Key that will let users log in to their accounts using a single button rather than having to enter a password each time they want to access their data.
Importance of Microsoft Accounts
A Microsoft account is a single username and password that gives access to many of Microsoft's services. It allows you to sign in and out of services without having to remember individual usernames and passwords.
Microsoft accounts are used by various Microsoft services, such as Xbox, SkyDrive, Office 365, Outlook, Skype, Bing, and MSN.
By using a Microsoft account, you can use the same email address and password on all of your devices. This makes it easier to sign in and helps prevent you from getting locked out of your account because you forgot your password on one device or another.
Setting up a Microsoft account is free; however, some services require a paid subscription fee or are otherwise available only through an associated service (such as Windows Phone Store purchases).
Do you have a Microsoft Account set up? Let us know in the comment section below.
