If I use QB Desktop, my data is protected behind my firewall and a dozen security measures our outside IT has in place.  Our software is best protected by NOT connecting to QB Cloud or any external applications; and we don't need or want to do that; thus, there should be ZERO need for me to ever connect it to an Intuit account;  The software we use for our primary business is specific to law firms and is made by a large global company that is very compliance-centric and they do not require us to login to software that we own that lives on our internal network.  No matter how many ways Intuit tries to spin this as being for the user's benefit or security, it will not make it true.