I see this kind of enthusiasm 
quite often when Windows comes up on some privacy or Linux-related forum. “”“Good”“” old Linux forums vibes 
∼ ∼ ∼
Now, let me fix it for you:
- No (TL;DR: the level of privacy on both 10 and 11 is highly similar = bad);
- No (TL;DR: there’re very simple methods of bypassing Microsoft account “requirement” (which isn’t really a requirement));
- And another no. The system won’t run any slower. And no, there’s no bloatware on Windows. What’s bloatware for you? Define it. Shortcut tiles on your Start menu?
Stop spreading misinformation. I see A LOT of users have this confusion. What you all call “bloatware” — is nothing more than merely shortcuts/empty placeholders. There’s NO Spotify/TikTok/whatever pre-installed on your Windows install. Neither on 10, nor on 11.
They’re just placeholders, ad shortcuts which advertise apps that you can get from the Microsoft Store. Same story goes to all other shortcuts. Yes, they are annoying, but they are nothing more than mere shortcuts. All these apps are not actually installed. They will get installed only when you click on them (you can test all that for yourself). This will trigger Microsoft Store to install the app. And they never reappear if you remove the placeholder/ad shortcut (right click > Uninstall) and never click on them (to initiate an install) in the first place (you can test this for yourself as well). You can also see for yourself that those apps are not installed, by going to your app list and seeing that there’s no TikTok or other preinstalled sh**.
See my other answer, where I make a couple of points on Windows, which are relevant to OP’s questions.
Ugh-uh… I have used Windows 11 and I prefer it over 10, as it has more features which increase my UX. I’ve found a lot of features which are unique to 11. And for a full list of them, see this. I personally definitely wouldn’t call 11 a downgrade. But whatever: seems like people are going to sh** on Windows anyway even if the thing complained about — isn’t privacy-related. That’s all because it is a forum on privacy. I guess one can expect people here to be very anti-Windows ‘a priori’. Shi**ing on Windows for being privacy-invasive is fully okay, but once misinformation (about TikTok pre-installed and about Microsoft account “”“mandatory”“” lock-in) kicks in… I’m out.
inb4 “You are just a Windows shill” — I’m not. I have used Windows extensively and know a thing or two about it.
No, you won’t. There are perfectly legitimate ways to use Windows 10/11 without a Microsoft account. And these ways are quite simple.
There’s no added bloat in Windows 11 in comparison to 10 (if you simply mean pathetic install-triggering shortcut tiles in the Start menu). I hate it when people say “Windows bloatware”. What bloatware? OneDrive pre-installed by default? People use OneDrive for many useful features, including backups, etc. It is very nicely integrated with Windows and provides high UX. But it’s not private, yes. And it’s a Microsoft product — of course they’ll push for it. You don’t want OneDrive — go into Apps and delete it. I mean, really: there’s no bloatware in Windows 10/11 whatsoever. The only things that can be called bloatware — are present in the Apps list, and in Windows Features. Simply go there and remove/disable what you want.
They can be quickly opened by a keyboard shortcut:
- Windows Features: Windows logo key + R >
optionalfeatures
- App list: Windows logo key + X, then press F
Privacy problems/concerns of 11 are very similar to 10. Consider them similar privacy-wise (= bad privacy on both).
Rufus is open-source and has no problems privacy-wise. While Rufus’s methods of bypassing Microsoft account requirement are clean and sane, there are more “direct” methods (without using third-party software, that is) of bypassing Microsoft account login-wall (one, two).
Now some more regarding that very common “”“bloatware”“” misconception circus.
Here are the screenshots of my whole App list after deleting redundant apps via Settings itself. Windows 10, 22H2. I greyed out the apps and drivers I installed, as they don’t count. “Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable” I installed myself, but it is an essential library for many apps, so I decided not to grey it out, assuming most users are going to install it.
Please, Dora, find some “bloatware” among these:
1
2
3
Note that I never used any third-party tweakers/uninstallers or else (or anything third-party at all). I only uninstalled what I wanted in a native way — via Settings itself. There was OneDrive, and a bunch of system apps I don’t need (Feedback Hub, etc). All that “bloatware” can simply be removed via Settings.
I can confirm. I once did force-install 11 into one of my old PCs, and encountered lots of bugs. People should never force-install 11 on unsupported devices, for a daily driver. They can do it as an experiment; only if they have nothing else but an unsupported device, and still want to check out how 11 feels/looks like.
Over the years I noticed that Windows people complain a lot about things which can be turned off/configured in a second. These notifications is exactly one of them. Most Windows people are just aggro-noobs.
