Do we need separate logins on the one laptop we share?

My partner opened the sewing-order form I had been working on and said, ‘Why is my course essay in your recent files?’ We share one Windows 11 laptop and one login. The essay and an order attachment had nearly identical filenames, and I had just caught myself selecting the wrong one for an email. Nothing had been sent.

Until then, the shared login had felt convenient. We both knew where the printer settings were, and either of us could finish a job without asking the other to sign in. I suggested separate accounts. My partner heard that as me turning an almost-mistake into a rule about touching each other's things.

Microsoft says Windows can have multiple user accounts with their own settings and documents. Its guidance also says administrators can access all files, so separate accounts would not be a promise of privacy from someone with administrator access. [Microsoft account guidance](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/identity-signin/manage-user-accounts-in-windows).

I mostly want the right files and email account in front of me when I sit down to work. We cannot justify a second laptop right now. Is switching logins a proportionate fix, and how would you handle the few files we really do use together without recreating the same muddle?