[kopija]

This guy gets it.

Obligatory Ranting

At the surface level, I don’t think this corner case of systematically lowering the security of users who opt out of using Microsoft accounts was intentional. I think for many normal users having a default that data is not encrypted unless the key is backed up is a reasonable trade-off to avoid catastrophic data loss. Yet, I wonder: why didn’t the setup flow just ask me if I wanted to be responsible for backing up my key myself, or if I wanted to back it up with Microsoft? Apple does!
It’s the obvious answer to that question that pushes me towards my personal conclusion that at a deeper level this outcome was the inevitable product of an earlier deceit and coercion. Microsoft wants you to use use a Microsoft account. They think it makes you more likely to consume Microsoft services. So, they choose not to ask what you want, and instead push you along the path to what they want.