AlexV,

Well you are the first person to finally explain WHY I get the Intuit popup even though I don't use any connected services - I always login as admin because I am the company admin.  I don't use QuickBooks per se, I'm the IT manager and adding users, updating files, creating new files, etc. are my responsibility.  Actually, linking my QB Desktop files to the outside world is not an extra layer of security but that is neither here nor there.

Thank you very much for providing the additional explanation and answering my rant directly.  I appreciate that you understand mine and many others frustrations.  I will definitely send feedback.  At this point it can't hurt.

Honesty doesn't always solve the complaint but it goes a long way to soothe the savage customer.

KurtKyle_M  - You said that  you would  "share some details as to why QuickBooks wants you to sign in your Intuit account" but then didn't do that. All you did was to provide details about how to set up and use an Intuit Account. Maybe you are new to this thread, but the theme here is that a great many users of QB Desktop do not use the connected Intuit Services you refer to and do not want to have to have an Intuit Account to which they must log on regularly. Pretty simple, and something that Intuit has been aware of for some time, but chooses not to allow. So, a good place to start would be to explain the real reason why Intuit is trying to force desktop users who do not use any Intuit Services to have an Intuit Account that they must log into periodically.

mfrumento - Not to be picky, but when dealing with Intuit it pays to stay very much between the lines. What you purchased was a license to use the software product owned by Intuit. 

I am absolutely astounded that this thread has had such a vigorous life for nearly two full years. When I posted my gripe about the login requirement in September 2020, I had no idea that I would be receiving a continual stream of QuickBooks user complaints about Intuit imposing its ownership of our personal data by requiring us to regularly connect and then promoting a slow, but sure, transition into purely online data storage (exclusively on Intuit's terms) and rental software. I find this strategy colossally offensive and am actively seeking other accounting software to address my needs. If Intuit had taken the direction of online work as a complete option, I would be happy to continue with QuickBooks.  But, no.

Please don't respond with additional patronizing posts about how wonderful QuickBooks online services are and how important logging in is to security; they are all deflective corporatespeak for "we want to make you totally dependent on our company". I've had it and I'm outahere.

Thank you @CJinNC ...Ditto!! I am getting non-stop notifications on this subject.  PLEASE STOP PEOPLE!!

Turn off your notifications:

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/user/myprofilepage/tab/user-subscriptions:notification-s...

The reason intuit is requiring us to sign in is because they are tracking us.  It states so on their legal page.  An Inuit tech i was working with referenced a law that requires sign in. I asked the tech what law.  They gave me a link to their legal page and now  I cannot fine the page easily.  There is no law.  They specifically state they are tracking our use.  I expect they are planning on moving to a tiered priced subscription service based on the number of Quick book files you may have.  

They really do not care that some of us are unhappy.  They know there will be a certain percentage of their customers who are and will leave.  They built that factor into their decision to go to subscription service model and it is worth it to them in the long run.  The only choice, we who are unhappy, is to move to a new accounting system.

Personally, I would be ok with the subscription model even though it is not my favorite model from a consumer standpoint.  What is a deal killer for me are the forced sign is to my intuit account.  

I'm also done with QB, after 30+ years, but I'm old and I don't like "teaching a new dog..." (which is ME), so I'd love to hear from others who have lets (and still get these posts), or are actively searching for other platforms!

I use Right Networks for my enterprise version. That's hosted remotely and I use Payments so I have to be logged in.

I also run a locally installed copy of QB with a duplicate company file for testing purposes. I have to be very careful not to log in because I don't want credit card payments getting imported into the test file. Now, all of a sudden, whenever I save a document in my test file I get a popup that says "I AM YOUR QUICKBOOKS OVERLORD. SIGN IN OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES." Pretty annoying. 

Quickbooks, the more I use you the more I regret it. 

Thanks for joining this thread, @Maverick2. I'll share some information on why you're seeing such prompts in QuickBooks Desktop.

At Intuit, we take your safety seriously. We're here to ensure you keep your data and privacy safe. This is for users who have indicated that they are the file's Admin/Primary.an extra layer of security, provides a single login to other Intuit products, including payroll, and enables you to access new features in QuickBooks Desktop. Please keep in mind that this is required if:

• A New QuickBooks Company file is created
• QuickBooks Desktop users with connected services such as Payments, Payroll direct deposit, TSheets time tracking, Payroll Workforce, Receipt Management
• The existing QuickBooks Desktop Company file is opened using the Admin credentials and no Intuit account is associated with the file.

As my peer, AlexV, mentioned above, you'll still get Intuit account prompts regardless of whether you don't have connected services. The only way not to get this prompt is to use QuickBooks Desktop in an offline mode or not be connected to the internet.

You can also get help through your account, which is one of our new ways of reaching out for assistance. Here's how:

1. In QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), press F1 on your keyboard to open the Help page. 
2. Click the Contact Us button.
3. Enter your concern in the box and select Continue. 
4. Choose either Start messaging or Get a callback. 

Also, you can always visit our View All Help page for reference. There, you can read articles that will guide you in completing your other future tasks in QuickBooks.

Don’t hesitate to click the Reply button if you have other QuickBooks concerns. I’ll be around to answer them for you. Stay safe, Maverick2!

---

@Kevin_C wrote:

Thanks for joining this thread, @Maverick2. I'll share some information on why you're seeing such prompts in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

At Intuit, we take your safety seriously. We're here to ensure you keep your data and privacy safe. This is for users who have indicated that they are the file's Admin/Primary.an extra layer of security, provides a single login to other Intuit products, including payroll, and enables you to access new features in QuickBooks Desktop. Please note that this is mandated if:

 

My goodness, Intuit employees are so good at replying with cut and paste template 'answers'

@Kevin_C ... Did you read this thread at all?

Standalone, Desktop 'Solo' users - yes they will be 'admins'- do NOT need your so called 'extra layer' of security. We chose 'stand alone' system for greater security. But now you try to force us to log in to you as well. No No No NO!

That is not what we want. Some of us do bookkeeping, or tried to, in a simple way.
I handle some non-profits. No salaries, no online services needed.
AND CERTAINLY NO LOGGING IN TO INTUIT! Not needed, not asked for, not what I bought!

Do you hear us? Or do we get reply number 5 again????

Nobody listens here.  You need to post in public places that will embarrass Intuit.

I left a review on Google Maps at their California HQ.  Pick a site of you choosing.

gscott121 - They might occassionall listen (note that they quickly delete any reference to an off board contact or similar) , but only to laugh around the water cooler and to exchange cute ideas for replies to seem to be serious about customer satisfaction while not caring one bit. Your suggestion to post reviews anyplace else that will attract the attention of other Intuit customers, or potential customers, is a very good one. I hope it produces results if not to remove the acurssed login requirement then at least to make some potential customers look elsewhere. 

Kevin_C - Another response from the Intuit side that is completely unresponsive to the poster and utterly self-serving to Intuit. If it was true that "At Intuit, we take your safety seriously." Intuit would respond the the single request repeated over and over in this thread by removing the log in that you slipped into the desktop version without either the knowledge or consent of the users. Repeating the same platitudes about taking sustomers seriously while not being responsive to their requests and complaints proves exactly the opposite. Most of us respond to this in the same terms that the Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island did when the Russian warship demanded their surrender.

AlexV -  Your response is really just more of the usual Intuit platitudes, but one thing caught my eye and that was your comment that the login requirement will continue unless the user is "...in offline mode or not connected to the Internet..." Great information. That implies there are two distinct means of avoiding this login, go to "offline mode" or not be connected to the Internet. So, tell me, how, exactly, can I set QB Desktop 2019 to "offline mode?" I understand the not connected to the Internet part. A very vast percentage of users have QB Desktop installed on a computer that is also either connected to a LAN which is also connected to the Internet, or they are using a desktop workstation that is also used for browsing, shopping, or other activities Are you actually implying that to avoid the loathed login requirement the Intuit customer running QB Desktop would either need to umplug from the Internet, or install QB Desktop on a separate computer that is not onccected to the Internet.

Just curious. I will look forward to your response.

Best.

Thank you for following this thread, @LLuck2. I appreciate you for sharing your sentiments here. 

I completely understand how you want to set QB Desktop to offline mode. QB can be used for both online and offline mode. However, the option to set in on the software itseld is unavailable. 

I'll make sure that your concerns will be heard and will let our developers know about this issue that everyone's facing. I encouraged everyone to do the same. 

If you haven't yet, you can send your comments and suggestion directly to our engineers. Here's how to submit a feedback request in the steps below:

1. From the Help menu, choose Send Feedback Online.
2. Click on Product Suggestion.
3. Enter your feedback and hit Send Feedback.

Don't hesitate to return to this post if you have any additional issues or if there is anything else that I can do for you. Take care!

Just downloaded the R14 update, come to find out QuickBooks is installing a Built In Browser. I should have been more careful. This could be next step in forcing us to use a cloud based format. I should have waited until I learned more about this, but there was no R14description at the time.

Release 14 (R14) - May 2022

Thank you for your response. So, in reality there is no offline mode built into QB Desktop. The only way to affect an offline mode is to run from a machine that is not connected to the Internet in any way. I'm sure you can understand the impracticality of that for most users. 

As for passing this issue on to Intuit engineers, I think that has been enough said in this thread over the past couple of years for your engineers, and executives at Intuit, to be aware that this requirement for QB Desktop users to log into an Intuit account in order to use the product is emphatically unwanted. I can also appreciate that Intuit apparently has reasons to want it, and to refuse to remove it. This is a standoff that may continue. Some users will eventually move on to other software that doesn't require the logon. Some will give in and switch to Intuit's, or a competitor's, cloud software. Some will continue to apply the Alt+F4 workaround until a better option surfaces. 

Sorry to learn that you got taken by surprise. This is exactly how the hated login requirement was implemented, an update with no description, and no option to roll back unless you happened to have made a backup just prior to which you could restore. I for one will never allow an update to QB Desktop. While some things in accountind do change, payroll and tax stuff for example or the printing of the new 1099, the basics don't really change much over time. I'd type the new 1099 format by hand before updating QB to do it since one can never trust Intuit to disclose exactly what other changes might be included.

Possible Workaround.

Note - Quickbooks employees, NO need to respond to this, please. This is just for fellow QB users who may find it useful.

Re "offline mode" - I am running QB Desktop Mac 2021 (V20.0.7 R8.1 / Build 908). I have Little Snitch (an outgoing network connection manager / blocker) set to deny QB any outgoing network connections. So my desktop's connected to the internet, but QB, effectively, is not.

When I start QB up, the "Log In" dialogue window pops up, but there's no content in it, and I have the option to hit "cancel" at bottom right, and continue to work on QB.

I'm not sure whether this is "offline mode", not sure how long it's going to last functionally, and (along with all of the rest of you) sure as heck I don't like this intrusion on our privacy and work efficiency by Intuit ... but it may be a useful workaround for some other Mac users out there.

LLuck2, that was well said. The workarounds are effective and should be used by anyone who desires to not logon when opening Quickbooks.

1. Use the Alt-F4 solution, also right-click on banner and select close

2. Add a Firewall rule so your computer does not connect to intuit 

Both methods are effective.

We know the direction of Intuit [like others] is the cloud...cloud first...cloud only. We are not going to change that direction. Please use the workarounds.

Wow.  Who told you to tell us this?  Do you think we are stupid, or are you just insulting us?  WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHOOSE WHAT DATA WE WANT ONLINE!!!!!

Honestly Katherine Joyce, here is my take on the security issue. And you'll have to forgive me because i couldn't read through 24 pages of complaints on this issue. The new log in requirement is so that Intuit will know exactly how many client files we are creating in our practices and at a certain point Intuit is going to use that against their 'partners'. You did it with IOP and desktop is coming, you are trying to control everything we do and it sucks. We migrated away from IOP and will do the same when you start invoicing us for each client we have created within our own practice. or try to sell  us a bulk license.

I think that most have missed the point.  When companies start throwing out answers to the wrong question is is a smoke screen.  Possibly the person delivering the smoke is a poorly educated person in some other country where the wages are a few dollars a week so that person really believes it is the correct answer.

Or maybe they know and are part of the  scheme.

At one time it was very easy to "loan" your friend a software installation program and that friend now was using a software that you paid for.  Maybe that friend also did the same and again and again until one license was being used by dozens of people. 

All companies are currently trying to find ways to enforce licensing and upgrades.

Another thing about software was that a person could purchase a software and install it and never have to pay again as long as the operating system never upgraded to a point where that software would no longer function.

IT IS ALL ABOUT MONEY AND BELIEVE ME, IT IS NOT ABOUT YOUR MONEY or protecting you.

It is about brutally forcing people to pay and pay and pay again when duped into thinking that they were actually purchasing a software product. 

It is about identifying what ip addresses that software is being used from and very likely the name or other identifying information about the actual computer that is running it. 

They do not care about you.  They care about being certain they have the means to go after criminal software abusers and also about forcing every person to pay and pay and pay instead of exercising the option to continue using an older version that was paid for in full.

Obviously no company is in business to actually help customers.  It is in business to extract money from customers only.  Once we understand that then we can see that the only options are use it or use something else  OR carefully examine the situation and if it is discovered that some law has been broken in their obviously BAD WILL gesture of "PAPERS PAPERS PLEASE SHOW YOUR PAPERS AND GIVE MORE MONEY. "

If that can not be proven then the choices are use it or do not use it.