How to Uninstall Cortana in Windows 10

Windows 10 includes a digital assistant called Cortana, which can perform a variety of tasks, such as setting alarms and timers, opening apps and programs, taking notes and dictation, providing weather and traffic updates, and much more. You can talk to Cortana, or type questions and commands.

Cortana is turned on by default when you install Windows 10. However, if you don’t want to use Cortana or you want to uninstall it for some reason, here’s how you can do that.

Why you might want to uninstall Cortana

You might want to uninstall Cortana because you don’t want Microsoft collecting information about you, or you might simply find her to be a nuisance. Whatever the reason, here’s how to get rid of her.

First, open the Windows 10 Settings app by pressing the Windows key + I on your keyboard. Then click on “System.”

Next, click on “Notifications & Actions” in the left-hand sidebar. In the main pane, scroll down until you see the header “Cortana.” Turn off the switch next to “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows.” This will stop Cortana from giving you pro tips as you use your PC.

Now scroll down a bit further and turn off the switch next to “Send Microsoft info about how I write to help us improve typing and writing in the future.” This will stop Microsoft from collecting information about your typing habits.

Finally, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Permissions & History.” Under “History,” click on “Clear Cortana data.” This will delete any information that Cortana has collected about you so far.

Now that Cortana is wiped clean, you can disable her entirely by opening the Start menu and searching for “Cortana settings.” Click on the top result.

In the Cortana settings window that appears, toggle off every switch under both “What Cortana knows about me in the cloud” and “Manage what Cortana can do on this device.” This will disable all of Cortana’s features. If you want to get rid of her completely, scroll down to the bottom of this page and click on “Turn off ‘Hey Cortana.'”

How to disable Cortana in Windows 10

Cortana is a handy assistant included in Windows 10, but you may not want it around for various reasons. If you fall into that category, here’s how to disable Cortana in Windows 10.

First, open Cortana by clicking on the Start menu and typing in “Cortana.” From there, click on the notebook icon in the left sidebar and then select “Settings.”

disable cortana windows 10 settings

In the “Settings” window, scroll down to the “Cortana can give you suggestions, ideas, reminders, alerts and more” section and toggle off the switch next to each option. You can also toggle off the “Hey Cortana” functionality if you don’t want Cortana listening for voice commands.

Once you’ve toggled all of those options off, Cortana will be disabled. You can always re-enable it by following the same steps and turning the switches back on.

How to remove Cortana files from your computer

If you’re no longer using Cortana on your Windows 10 computer, you may want to remove the files associated with the program to free up space on your hard drive. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the following folder:

C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.549981C3F5F10_cw5n1h2txyewy

2. Select all of the files in the folder and delete them.

3. reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

How to prevent Cortana from starting up

If you’re using Windows 10 and you don’t want Cortana to run in the background, there are a few steps you can take to prevent it from starting up.

First, open Cortana’s settings by clicking theStart button and then clicking the settings cogwheel. In the “Talk to Cortana” section, turn off the toggle switch next to “Hey Cortana.” This will prevent Cortana from responding to your voice commands.

Next, go to the “Permissions & History” section and click “Clear my device history.” This will delete any data that Cortana has collected about you and your usage habits.

Finally, go to the Privacy settings page and click “Stop getting to know me.” This will prevent Cortana from collecting any new data about you.

Once you’ve taken these steps, Cortana will no longer be able to run in the background on your device.

How to stop Cortana from running in the background

If you’re not a fan of Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana, you can disable it relatively easily. Here’s how to stop Cortana from running in the background on Windows 10.

First, open the Cortana search bar by clicking in the taskbar or searching for “Cortana” in the Start menu. Then click the Notebook icon and select settings from the list.

In the settings menu, you can toggle off Cortana completely, or just prevent her from running in the background. If you want to completely get rid of Cortana, you can also uninstall her from your system.

To do this, open the Settings app and go to System>Apps & features. Scroll down to Cortana in the list and click on it. Then select “Uninstall” to remove Microsoft’s digital assistant from your system.

How to block Cortana from accessing your data

1) Type “edit group policy” in the Cortana search bar and click on the top result.
2) In the window that opens, navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Search on the left side.
3) On the right side, find the setting named “Allow Cortana” and double-click it.
4) In the pop-up window, select “Disabled” and click “OK.”
5) Close Group Policy Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

How to stop Cortana from sending data to Microsoft

If you use Cortana on Windows 10, you may not be aware that she’s always listening and sending data back to Microsoft. This is how she’s able to provide you with information and answer your questions, but it also raises some privacy concerns.

You can stop Cortana from sending data to Microsoft by disabling her in the Windows settings. Here’s how:

1. Open the Start menu and go to Settings.
2. Click on Privacy.
3. Scroll down to Cortana and turn off the switch for Send Microsoft information about how I write to help improve typing and writing in the future.
4. That’s it! You can now close the Settings window.

How to completely remove Cortana from Windows 10

Windows 10 offers much more than just Cortana, but if you’re not a fan of Microsoft’s digital assistant, here’s how to completely remove it from your PC.

If you’re not familiar with Cortana, it’s Microsoft’s version of Siri or Google Now. It can perform tasks or searches on your behalf, set alarms and reminders, open apps and files, track packages, give you directions, and much more. You can also chat with Cortana using natural language.

While some people find Cortana useful, others view it as an invasion of privacy. If you falls into the latter camp, here’s how to get rid of Cortana in Windows 10.

IMPORTANT: Uninstalling Cortana is not recommended by Microsoft and could potentially cause problems with your Windows installation. Use this guide at your own risk.

To uninstall Cortana in Windows 10, do the following:

How to reinstall Cortana in Windows 10

If you’ve decided you want to reinstall Cortana in Windows 10, or you’re simply having trouble getting the digital assistant to work properly, there are a few different ways you can go about it. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get Cortana up and running again.

First, open the Windows search bar and type in “powershell.” Right-click on the PowerShell app that appears and select “Run as administrator.”

In the PowerShell window, type in the following command:

Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.549981C3F5F10| Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

Once that’s done, restart your computer and Cortana should be back up and running.

How to Uninstall Cortana in Windows 10