You can easily remove Cortana in Windows 10 if you want. Here is the detailed guide for how to completely remove/uninstall Cortana from Windows 10. FYI, MiniTool, not only provides useful solutions to various computer problems, but also provides a set of useful computer software like MiniTool Power Data Recovery, MiniTool Partition Wizard, MiniTool ShadowMaker, etc.
In the past, Cortana is a part of Windows 10 Search, and some of you may find it’s hard to remove Cortana. After Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Cortana is no longer a part of Windows 10, and it is a stand-alone app. You can update it from Microsoft Store or even uninstall Cortana in Windows 10.
If you don’t need Cortana and want to completely remove Cortana from your Windows 10 computer, you can try the 3 ways below.
How to Completely Remove Cortana in Windows 10 – 3 Ways
Way 1. Remove Cortana with PowerShell
Step 1. Press Windows + X, and click Windows PowerShell (Admin) to open Windows PowerShell utility.
Step 2. Next you can copy and paste the following command line in PowerShell window, and press Enter to remove Cortana from Windows 10.
Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage
Way 2. Permanently Disable Cortana via Registry Editor
Since you can’t uninstall Cortana via Control Panel like uninstalling other programs, you can remove it from your Windows 10 computer by editing the Registry.
But it’s highly advised you backup Registry first before you do some edits, so that you can easily restore Registry after some wrong operation. (Related: Backup and restore Registry)
Alternatively, you can also create a system restore point for your Windows system in case something goes wrong. Check how to remove Cortana by editing Registry below.
Step 1. You can press Windows + R, type regedit in Run dialog, and press Enter to open Registry Editor in Windows 10.
Step 2. Next click as the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search. If you don’t see a Windows Search folder, you can right-click Windows folder and click New -> Key, and create a new key named Windows Search.
Step 3. Then right-click Windows Search key and click New -> DWORD (32-BIT) Value. Give the new value a name AllowCortana.
Step 4. Double-click AllowCortana key and change its Value data to 0. Click OK to save the editing. Restart your computer to make the changes take effect.
Then you will see a standard Windows Search box but not Cortana at Taskbar. If you want to enable Cortana again, you can go to the AllowCortana key in Registry Editor to delete it or change its value data to 1.
Way 3. Remove Cortana on Windows 10 with Group Policy
Step 1. Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc in Run dialog, and press Enter to open Group Policy in Windows 10.
Step 2. Click as the following in Group Policy window: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search.
Step 3. Find Allow Cortana option in the right window, double-click it.
Step 4. Click Disabled option and click OK to save the changes. Reboot your computer to apply the changes.
Related: How to Reset Group Policy Settings to Default.
How to Remove Cortana from Taskbar on Windows 10
You can right-click the blank space at Windows 10 Taskbar, click Cortana and select Hidden.
To show Cortana icon at Taskbar again, you can right-click Taskbar, click Cortana and select Show Cortana icon.
How to Remove Cortana from Task Manager
- You can press Ctrl + Shift + ESC to open Task Manager on Windows 10.
- Click Startup tab in Task Manager, and right-click Cortana. Click Disable to remove Cortana from Windows 10 Task Manager.
Bottom Line
If you want to remove Cortana from Windows 10 computer, you may try the three ways. However, editing either Registry or Group Policy is a little dangerous. If you don’t like Cortana, it’s advised you just don’t use it.
