In today’s world, where everything is interconnected, convenience always comes with the price of control. Microsoft 365, formerly known as Office 365, is meant to simplify your life by remembering your credentials for apps such as Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and the web portal. You sign in to an app once, and then voilà! The automatic sign-in feature takes care of the rest every time after that. No more typing your password every time.
But what if you don’t want this convenience? Perhaps you are using a shared computer, switching between multiple work and personal accounts on a regular basis, are concerned about security on a shared computer in a public or family setting, or simply want the added layer of security for your own peace of mind.
In this article, I am going to guide you on the most effective and up-to-date solutions to stop the Office 365 auto login problem.
Why Automatic Sign-in Happens (and Why Disable It?)
Microsoft uses several mechanisms for seamless authentication:
- “Stay signed in” / Keep Me Signed In (KMSI) prompt – When you check this box during login, Microsoft stores a persistent token.
- Single Sign-On (SSO) via Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) – Shares credentials across Microsoft services and sometimes integrated apps.
- Windows Credential Manager – Stores Office credentials for auto-login.
- Browser profile syncing (Edge/Chrome) – If signed into the browser with a Microsoft account, it auto-authenticates Office web apps.
- Modern Authentication in desktop apps – Keeps sessions alive for 90 days or more unless revoked.
Disabling these reduces risks like unauthorised access if a device is lost or shared, prevents accidental use of the wrong account, and gives you explicit control over every login.
Method 1: Disable Automatic Sign-in for Office 365
To resolve the issue, follow these steps:
- Go to the Office 365 homepage.
- Click your profile picture located on the top-right corner of the screen and select Sign out.
- After logging out, you will be brought back to the Office 365 login page.
Every time you log in to Office 365, make sure that you do not check the Keep me signed in option.
In this way, you can stop the auto-sign-in of your account.
PS.
To access the Office 365 login page, please click here
Make sure to log out of MS Word first before accessing the link.
Method 2: Clear Stored Credentials in Windows Credential Manager
Windows often caches Office 365 logins here, enabling auto-sign-in even after sign-out.
- Press Windows key + S and search for Credential Manager.
- Open Credential Manager > Windows Credentials.
- Look for entries starting with:
- MicrosoftOffice
- MicrosoftAccount
- OneAuth (for modern auth tokens)
- msteams, outlook, etc.
- Expand each relevant entry.
- Click Remove for any tied to your Office 365 account.
Method 3: Disable “Stay Signed In” Prompt Organisation-Wide (Admins Only)
If you’re a Microsoft 365 admin and want to enforce no persistent sessions for your entire organisation (great for shared or high-security environments):
- Go to the Microsoft Entra admin center (entra.microsoft.com).
- Sign in with Global Admin credentials.
- Navigate to Identity > Overview > User settings (or search for “User settings”).
- Find the Show option to remain signed in (or “Users can use ‘Keep me signed in'”).
- Set it to No.
- Click Save.
This hides or disables the KMSI checkbox for all users in your tenant. Users must re-authenticate more frequently (session lifetime drops to browser-close or shorter).
Conclusion
Disabling the automatic sign-in feature in Office 365 can enhance the security and privacy measures associated with your account. Regardless of whether Office 365 is being utilised for personal or corporate applications, it is vital to possess the ability to exercise control over the manner in which one accesses their account. I hope this tutorial was helpful and you were able to fix the issue of automatically getting logged in to Office 365. If you still encounter any issues, please let us know in the comments section.
