Do you want to uninstall Cortana? we have good news for you, you’ve come to the right place. It’s fairly simple to disable Microsoft’s digital assistant, which the company is making less and less prevalent on devices.
We’ve got detailed instructions for both regular users and power users to help you uninstall Cortana to your liking.
And now that Windows 11 is available, we can confirm that you must enable Cortana in the new operating system, as it is not enabled by default. So, when you first boot up a new Windows 11 PC, you won’t hear that annoying voice chime in with phrases like “A little sign-in here, a touch of Wi-Fi there.” As a result, we now have instructions for enabling and disabling Cortana in Windows 11.
Microsoft, on the other hand, does not appear to be abandoning Cortana. Instead, we’re seeing Cortana appear in unexpected places, such as Microsoft’s mobile Microsoft 365 apps. So, while you can uninstall Cortana from PCs, it still appears in the company’s Outlook and Teams apps.
According to Windows Latest, there are two ways to disable Cortana. You can either disable it from opening automatically when you boot your PC (the easier option) or uninstall the new Cortana app from Windows 10. (which is a little harder). We’ve included detailed instructions below.
How to disable Cortana in Windows 10
- Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
- In Task Manager, click the Startup column.
- Select Cortana.
- Click Disable.
- Then, open the Start menu.
- Find Cortana under All Apps.
- Right-click on Cortana.
- Select More.
- Click on App settings.
- Turn off the switch next to ‘Runs at log-in.’
How to uninstall the Cortana app in Windows 10
A word of caution: these steps require some tinkering. Because you’ll be tinkering with PowerShell, make a backup of your system first.
- Open the Start Menu and type in PowerShell.
- Right click on Windows PowerShell.
- Select ‘Run as administrator’.
- Type the following text (minus the ‘ marks) in: ‘Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage’
- Press Enter.
Power users who want to get rid of Cortana will have to go even deeper into the Windows Registry, which is even riskier for regular users. We recommend skipping that section because it is less necessary and potentially dangerous.
You’ve already turned off Cortana and removed its app presence. That should provide some extra peace of mind.
How to install Cortana in Windows 11
Cortana is not even enabled by default in Windows 11. But, just for fun, what if you wanted to enable Cortana in Windows 11?
- Click Windows + I (that’s an I not an L) to open Settings.
- Select Apps from the left menu.
- Select Apps and Features on the right menu.
- Scroll to Cortana, click the three dots icon and select Advanced options
- Turn the “Run at Log-in” toggle to the ON position.
How to disable Cortana in Windows 11
You’ve realized you’re sick of Cortana? It’s just as simple to turn off.
- Click Windows + I (that’s an I not an L) to open Settings.
- Select Apps from the left menu.
- Select Apps and Features on the right menu.
- Scroll to Cortana, click the three dots icon and select Advanced options
- Flip the “Run at Log-in” toggle to the OFF position.
