Does Windows require an account? I've recently set up several windows machines and made them all offline, local-only accounts.

Also, I've seen it for Kali, but I'm guessing it exists for others - it's called Kali Undercover or something. It makes your GUI look a good bit like Windows.

They make it seem like it does, but tech savvy people and those who read the screen thoroughly can easily create an offline only account without ever connecting or creating an online Microsoft account.