>Except the steps to to that are disable bitlocker, create a local user account (assuming you initially signed in with a Microsoft account because Ms now forces it on you for home editions of windows), delete your existing keys from OneDrive, then re-encrypt using your local account and make sure not to sign into your Microsoft account or link it to Windows again.

1. Is there any indication it forcibly uploads your recovery keys to microsoft if you're signed into a microsoft account? Looking at random screenshots, it looks like it presents you an option https://helpdeskgeek.com/wp-content/pictures/2022/12/how-to-...

2. I'm pretty sure you don't have to decrypt and rencrypt the entire drive. The actual key used for encrypting data is never revealed, even if you print or save a recovery key. Instead, it generates a "protectors", which encrypts the actual key using the recovery key, then stores the encrypted version on the drive. If you remove a recovery method (ie. protector), the associated recovery key becomes immediately useless. Therefore if your recovery keys were backed up to microsoft and you want to opt out, all you have to do is remove the protector.

The recovery key is the thing that gets uploaded, and it's the thing that is "protected" by the protectors

My understanding is generally one encrypts the real data in a system with a symmetric key (this would be the recovery key) and that symmetric key is in turn stored encrypted by something else. Such as the "protectors"...each of which is another encrypted copy of the main key

For example when Bitlocker is suspended the disk remains encrypted but that main key is now additionally stored with a "null protector"