Do you want to turn off Cortana or remove Cortana from Windows 10 permanently? Learn how to disable Cortana in Windows 10 Home or Pro and Enterprise edition.
Are you among those people who don’t like using the Cortana and want to find out how to disable Cortana in Windows 10 or how to remove Cortana from Windows 10 permanently?
If your answer is “Yes” then you have come to the right place. Here we have prepared a complete guide on how to turn off Cortana on Windows 10 completely and how to disable Cortana in Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise edition.
But before we go through all the solutions, let’s talk a bit about this voice-controlled virtual assistant and try answering a few questions such as what is Cortana in Windows 10 and how to get the most out of Cortana? What are the main reasons to disable Cortana? Can you completely disable Cortana on Windows 10? So, now without further ado let’s begin.
What is Cortana in Windows 10 and What Can Cortana Do for You?
Well, many of us already know what Cortana is and how it’s supposed to help the Windows 10 users. But folks, there might be very few who are actually aware of the technicalities of this application.
Probably inclusion of Cortana is the biggest feature update of the Windows 10 operating system. The API based voice assistant comes as pre-installed with Windows 10. From answering your questions about weather forecasts, searching the internet to making a Skype call, or even setting reminders, your virtual assistant can do all of this with ease. Similar to Siri on iOS and Google voice assistant on Android, Cortana has a large user base of 800 million(till 2019).
But as they say: “Nothing comes for free.” goes well with this virtual assistant as well. The more you let you know about yourself, the better it works.
Some of you must be wondering, “What does letting yourself know means, right?”
Well, Cortana collects a long list of information about its users. Starting from your location, internet search history, your search habits, to your contacts, it collects a lot of your personal staff.
Why Disable Cortana in Windows 10? Is It Possible to Completely Disable It?
The answer to this is quite simple. The invasion of privacy is what most of people do not like about Cortana. And if you ever wish to rank Siri, Google’s virtual assistant and Cortana based on performance, probably Cortana will be the last one.
The most annoying thing about this virtual assistant is the amount of user data it collects eventually comes for nothing. As far as my personal experience is concerned, it fails to locate most of anything that I ask it to search for on my computer. So, there is no point in letting the application consume the system resources.
Alongside this, disabling Cortana can help regain privacy since it can prevent the application from sending our personal data based on what we are doing on our PCs to Microsoft.
Coming to the second question, ‘Is it possible to disable Cortana?’ Well, the answer is yes! Cortana can be disabled through the Local Group Policy Editor and registry editor.
Now, if you ask, How to disable Cortana permanently? We have to say that it is very difficult. Being one of the pet projects of Microsoft, Cortana is embedded in Windows 10 in such a way that it’s pretty much difficult to remove this from the task manager process. But you can definitely stop the monitoring services while removing it from the Windows search.
How to Disable Cortana in Windows 10 using Windows Settings
As we said earlier, Cortana collects information such as your location, browsing history, contacts, calendar and communication history, and emails. You can turn the information-sharing feature from the Windows settings. Follow the steps below to do so,
- First of all, press the Windows Logo Key + I to open Windows Settings.
- Then, click on Cortana to open settings related to your virtual assistant.
- Now, from the right pane of the window click on the Permissions tab.
- Now, under the Permissions window click on Manage the information Cortana can access from this device.
- Then, under the new tab, find the toggles under Location, Contacts, email, calendar and communication history, and lastly, Browsing history. Change all the toggles as Off from On.
- Now, select the ‘Manage the information Cortana knows about me in the cloud option.
- As the Personal Information tab opens under Windows search scroll down to locate the Clear option. Select Clear now.
- Then, click on your sign-in ID and from there Click on Sign Out.
- Now, scroll down again to the History section. Locate the toggle under View Activity History. Turn the toggle Off.
As you successfully stop Cortana services, you need to hide that from your Windows Taskbar.
Hide Cortana From Taskbar
- At first, right-click on Taskbar.
- Then, click on Cortana and select the Hidden option.
If you are using the Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise version and looking to disable the Cortana, then you can do it from the Local Group Policy editor. Here is how to disable Cortana on Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise.
How to Disable Cortana in Windows 10 Home
Follow the steps below to remove Cortana using the Group Policy Editor.
- Firstly, press the Windows logo Key + R from your keyboard to open the Run search console on your computer.
- As the Run search box opens type in the following term and hit the Enter button:
gpedit.msc
- Now, once the Local Group Policy Editor window opens click on Computer Configuration.
- Then navigate through the following path:
Administrative Templates> Windows Components > Search
- Now, from the right pane of the window double-click on Allow Cortana button.
- Then click on the Disabled button and select OK after that.
- Finally, close the Group Policy Editor and restart your computer to proceed with the changes.
Are you using the Windows 10 Home version? Then, you need to use the Windows Registry Editor to remove Cortana from your computer.
How to Disable Cortana in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise
As we mentioned, you can disable Cortana in Windows 10 using the registry editor here are the required steps. Follow all the steps carefully and ensure there is no space for error left.
- At first, press the Windows Logo Key + R open the Run box on your system.
- Now, place the following command and press the Enter button on your keyboard:
regedit
- As the Windows Registry Editor window open navigate through the following path:
HKEY_Local_Machine> SOFTWARE> Policies> Microsoft> Windows
- Now, you need to right-click on the Windows directory and select New and then click on Key.
- Then, rename the new folder as Windows Search.
- Now, right-click on the Windows Search folder.
- Then, Select New followed by DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Now, again rename the new file as AllowCortana.
- Then, open the AllowCortana file by double-clicking.
- Now, set the value to 0 and select OK.
- Finally, close the registry editor and restart your computer.
Amigos, now you know how to turn off Cortana on Windows 10. But before you start editing the Group Policy or registry entry on your computer, we would like to suggest you create a system restore point.
Because any wrong entry to the Local Group Policy Editor or Registry Editor can lead you into some unavoidable error. Henceforth, having a restore point ready can always help you to get your system back in the working condition.
As we have already mentioned earlier, none of the methods mentioned above can remove the Cortana from the task manager. So, basically, it will keep consuming your CPU.
So, what’s the solution? Fret not! We have some solutions that can help you get rid of Cortana from the task manager too. But alongside Cortana, that will cost you the ‘Windows Search’ feature, which has always been useful so far.
Can you afford to lose the Windows Search feature? Well, we are just assuming that you want to do it. Hence, let’s move forward.
Disable Cortana in Windows 10 by Editing Cortana Folder
This is the best way to disable Cortana in Windows 10, positively, if you want a permanent solution. Let’s learn how to proceed with the steps,
- Firstly, type Task Manager in Windows Search and open the Task Manager from the search results.
- Now, under the list of processes running locate Cortana and double-click so that it shows the process running.
- Then, right-click on the process and click on Open file location option.
- As you find the Cortana folder right-click and select rename.
- Next, add ‘.bak’ at the end of the folder’s name.
- Now, you might get a prompt saying the Folder is in use.
- You need to go back to the Task Manager and stop the process and then click on the Try Again button on the prompt.
Well, this will remove Cortana from your system. Anyway, folks!
What is the Best Way to disable Cortana in Windows 10?
We have given all the possible solutions to your query, how to disable Cortana on Windows 10? Make sure you follow the steps carefully. Lastly, don’t forget to mention which process eventually you are using to turn off Cortana on your Windows 10 system in the comment box.
Stay connected with us to know more easy hacks to troubleshoot your Windows 10 related problems.