Disable Cortana via Settings by turning off voice activation and permissions under Privacy and Cortana settings to stop most activity. 2. Hide Cortana from the taskbar by right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Hidden or Off to remove the icon. 3. Use Group Policy Editor (for Pro/Enterprise editions) by navigating to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search and setting "Allow Cortana" to Disabled. 4. For Home edition users, edit the registry by creating a DWORD value named AllowCortana under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search and setting it to 0. 5. Optionally, use trusted third-party tools like O&O ShutUp10 for an easier interface. The most effective methods are Group Policy for Pro/Enterprise and Registry editing for Home editions, while casual users can rely on Settings and taskbar adjustments to minimize Cortana’s presence.
Disabling Cortana in Windows 10 is possible through several methods, depending on how much control you want and whether you're using a personal or work device. Here’s how to do it effectively.

1. Disable Cortana via Settings (Easiest Method)
This method turns off Cortana’s listening and personal assistant features but may not remove it completely.
- Click the Start menu, then go to Settings (gear icon).
- Select Privacy > Voice activation.
- Toggle off "Let Windows recognize your voice" under "Cortana can listen for you to say 'Hey Cortana'".
- Go back to Settings > Cortana > Permissions & history.
- Turn off options like "Send typing data", "Track activity", and clear existing history if desired.
This stops most background activity, but Cortana may still appear in the taskbar.
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2. Hide or Remove Cortana from the Taskbar
If you just want to hide the icon:
- Right-click the taskbar.
- Select Show Cortana icon > choose Hidden or Off (varies by Windows version).
- Alternatively, choose Show Cortana as an icon to minimize its presence.
This doesn’t disable Cortana fully but removes the visual clutter.

3. Use Group Policy (For Pro/Enterprise Editions)
If you're on Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, you can disable Cortana completely using Local Group Policy Editor.
- Press Win R, type
gpedit.msc
, and press Enter. - Navigate to:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search - Double-click "Allow Cortana".
- Set it to Disabled.
- Click Apply, then OK.
- Restart your computer.
After this, Cortana will no longer run or respond—even typing in the search bar won’t activate it.
4. Disable via Registry (For Home Edition Users)
If you’re using Windows 10 Home (which lacks Group Policy), you can edit the registry:
?? Warning: Editing the registry can be risky. Back it up first.
- Press Win R, type
regedit
, and press Enter. - Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search
- If the Windows Search key doesn’t exist, right-click Windows, select New > Key, and name it
Windows Search
. - Inside this key, right-click > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it
AllowCortana
. - Double-click it and set its value to 0.
- Restart your PC.
This achieves the same result as the group policy method.
5. Use Third-Party Tools (Optional)
Tools like Windows 10 Debloater or O&O ShutUp10 let you disable Cortana with a few clicks. These are safe if downloaded from official sources, but manual methods above are more transparent and don’t require extra software.
Basically, if you're on Pro/Enterprise, use Group Policy. If on Home, use the Registry method. For casual use, just disable voice activation and hide the icon. It’s not hard—just depends how thorough you want to be.
The above is the detailed content of How to disable Cortana in Windows 10. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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