After 40 years of being free Microsoft has added a paywall to Notepad

Notepad has been around for more than 40 years, and throughout that time, Microsoft made simple software free, but that time has now come to an end, or at least if you want full access to Notepad.

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The age of Notepad having a paywall has arrived, with the simple writing software now prompting users to sign into a Microsoft account to access new tools such as Rewrite, a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to rewrite highlighted text. Users attempting to use the new feature will be prompted with a Microsoft account sign-in page, and if the account doesn't have an active Microsoft 365 membership, the user will be required to sign up. This is the paywall.

It should be noted that you can still use Notepad without a Microsoft account, and users can go as far as removing the Rewrite icon completely from Notepad. Despite the ability to still use the software without an account, Microsoft has received some criticism for implementing what is most definitely a paywall/advertisement for a built-in piece of Windows software.

This criticism comes after Microsoft slowly started baking in advertisements for its other services within the Windows 11 operating system, such as ads for Game Pass within the Settings app, various ads within the Start Menu, and even File Explorer. As explained by Windows Central, Microsoft has adopted the "freemium" model for Notepad, which, for those who don't know, means the initial software is free to use but has specific features are locked behind paywalls.

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