Just like Siri and other voice assistants, Cortana is also a popular voice assistant available digitally to you. It comes inbuilt with Windows 10. However, if you don’t want to avail this feature, you can simply disable it. 

So this article is all about how to disable Cortana Windows 10. When Windows 10 was first launched, it was easy to disable the Cortona, but it used to disable the Windows Search. Although the process is not that easy, still you can go through the instructions below.

However, before you start the process, you are recommended to create a restore point for safety. And to do so, follow the guidelines listed here:

  • Open the Windows search box and type “system restore”. Then select the “Create a Restore Point.”
  • When the pop-up box appears, click on the “Create” button
  • Now before you click on Create, you have to give it a name.

This process will create a restore point if something goes wrong by creating a snapshot.

How to Turn Off Cortana?

You must know that Cortana is strongly integrated with Windows 10 and its Search tool. So if you turn off Cortona, you might lose some of the Windows functionalities. For instance, reminders, natural language searches and, personalized news through your files. However, you don’t have to worry about the standard file search as it was totally fine. And the good thing is that you can reenable the Cortona if you don’t like the way how it behaves when you disable Cortana in Windows 10. So to do that, just perform the steps again and undo the changes you did in the steps listed below.

Disable Hey Cortona in Windows 10

Cortona activates when you respond it your voice. So to disable it, you first have to make sure that it does not respond to your voice. Follow the steps below to disable Hey Cortona.

  • Open the Windows Search box and search for Cortona & Search Settings.
  • Now select the “Talk To Cortona” option. Then ensure that the “Hey Cortona” and “Keyboard Shortcut” are off.

Now make sure that Cortona won’t respond to your voice. 

Disable Cortana for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise User By Using Group Policy

In Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise, the effective way to get rid of Cortona is to use the Group Policy. However, the Local Group Policy Editor which is only for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise is available to you. Though disabling Cortona can cause minimum problems, yet the Group Policy Edit allows you to turn off Cortana. This is with minimal impact on Windows Functionality and Search properties. Besides, you can do this in a couple of minutes. 

In Windows 10 Home, the registry editor can be used, which is easier to use. Check out the list of instructions below to turn off Cortana in Windows 10.

  • Open the Windows search box and type “group policy”. Even you can press and hold “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog box. Then type “gpedit.msc”.
  • Now, navigate to the Computer Configuration followed by Administrative Templates and Windows Components. Then click on the Search option.
  • Tap on the “Allow Cortana” which is located on the right panel.
  • Right-click on “Allow Cortana” and then hit the “Edit” option.
  • In the Radio button, select the “Disabled” option which is on the left.
  • Now, just tap on the “Apply” button and then the window will be closed.
  • Lastly, just restart the computer. 

After that, you can see Disabled rather than Enabled on the “Allow Cortana line”. Now using Group Policy Editor, you have disabled Cortana in Windows 10. However, If you want to enable the Cortana again, then just repeat the above steps. And then tap on the “Enable” in the radio button.

Disable Cortana for Windows 10 Home User By Using Registry

As you know that there is no Group Policy Editor in Windows 10 Home. Though to know how to disable Cortana Windows 10, you can use the registry. However, you can also use the Group Policy in Windows 10 Home, if you install it yourself. Now follow the guidelines below to disable Cortona. 

  1. Open the Windows search box from the menu and type “regedit”. Also, you can press and hold “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog box. Then type “rgedit.msc”.
  2. Then navigate to the following given path “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search” which is located on the left pane of regedit.
  3. On the empty space in the right panel of regedit, right-click and tap on the “New” and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value”.
  4. You have to now rename it “AllowCortana”. Now change the value to 0 to continue
  5. Click on “OK” to save the new key. 

Now you have successfully and permanently disabled the Cortana. It will not create any bug or issues until any Windows 10 Update re-enables it.

Conclusion

Here is the overall guide on how to turn Cortana off. You can go through the steps depending upon what Windows 10 version you are using. Although if you want, you can install Group Policy in Windows 10 Home version by yourself. Just you have to follow the steps of the Disable Cortana for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise User by using Group Policy.