SO now I've gone from frustrated to...

[TwilightZone]

5. You don't need an account.

The link includes "your account" but in this context, that just means the current session. It's just the location on the site where the settings are stored. I'm not logged in to PP and I get the same thing.

You were probably able to do so in the past because the current security measures that require essential cookies weren't in place. A lot of websites have raised security recently due to global malware and website attacks.