How to Disable Cortana in Windows 10

Cortana as one of the best digital assistants, Microsoft Cortana has been considerably helpful in our daily life and work. However, Cortana collects various information to know you, such as your contacts, text messages, locations, in order to better help you with the tasks. So there are privacy issue with Cortana in Windows 10.In Cortana settings I answer no to using Cortana but it is still in my task bar. Can it be removed? I can not find it as an app to uninstall and it is not under programs in the control panel.

You cannot uninstall Cortana on Windows 10. However you my try turning it off from settings.

You can completely disable Cortana in Windows 10. This article introduces how to disable Cortana in Windows 10, including Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Home.

How to turn off Cortana in Windows 10

Check Windows 10 Build Version

Hit Start, type “winver,” and then press Enter. 

Or You could also press Windows + R, type “winver” into the Run dialog, and press Enter.

That is it. You should now see a dialog screen revealing the OS build and registration information.

Then you can choose the method to disable Cortana depending on your Windows 10 OS name.

How to disable Cortana on Windows 10 Pro

1.Hit the Start key, search for Edit group policy, and open it.

2.On Local Group Policy Editor, go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search. Double click Search.

3.Find Allow Cortana, and double-click to open it.

4.In the Allow Cortana section, select Disabled. Then click Apply and OK to save.

If you want to enable Cortana later, you just go to the Group Policy by following the steps above, and reset Allow Cortana to Enabled.

How to disable Cortana on Windows 10 Home

The process is slightly trickier, and involves editing the Windows Registry. If you’re not comfortable with this process, we suggest taking a backup, or setting a restore point.

1.Hit the Start Key, search for regedit, and open it.

2.Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search

Note:If you don’t see a Windows Search key (folder) below the Windows folder, right-click the Windows folder and select New > Key. Type in Windows Search, and hit enter.

3.Select Windows Search. In the right-hand side pane, right-click in the empty area and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Type in AllowCortana, and hit enter.

4.Double-click AllowCortana, and type in 0 under Value Data.

If you’d like to turn on Cortana in Windows 10 later, you can follow the steps above in Registry, and set the AllowCortana key Value Data to 1, or delete the AllowCortana key.

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