If you want to uninstall Cortana from Windows, you are in the right place. The good news is that Microsoft’s digital assistant is so easy to turn off that the company continues to make it less prevalent on devices like the best Windows laptops.
We’re not sure if Microsoft is giving away the region for Alexa, Google Assistant, and (maybe) Siri…but that’s a question for another day. We’re here to discuss how to uninstall Cortana, with instructions for both regulars and power users alike.
Microsoft would probably prefer to get rid of Cortana by upgrading to Windows 11 as the digital assistant is not enabled by default. Even better, if you or someone you know has enabled Cortana (we’ll show you later in this article), it’s relatively easy to turn it off again.
Despite this, it seems that Microsoft is not giving up on Cortana. Instead, we’re seeing Cortana appear on other sites, like Microsoft’s Microsoft 365 mobile apps. So, yes, even though you can remove Cortana from computers, it still appears within the company’s Outlook and Teams apps.
There are two ways to disable Cortana, as described by Newer Windows. You can either stop it from opening automatically when you turn on your PC (the easiest way) or remove the new Cortana app from Windows 10 (which is a little trickier). We have the full 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.
- Search for Cortana Under “All apps”.
- Right click on Cortana.
- Select more.
- Click Application Settings.
- Turn off the switch next to “On at login”.
How to uninstall Cortana app in Windows 10
These steps require a bit of a fix, so a word of caution. Since you will be launching in PowerShell, backup your system first. Our best cloud backup solutions provide easy ways to protect your data.
- Open the Start menu and type PowerShell.
- Right click on Windows PowerShell.
- Select “Run as administrator”.
- Type the following text (minus the “tags) in:” Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage ‘
- Press enter.
Of course, experienced users who proceed to uninstall Cortana will need to dig deeper into the Windows registry – which is more dangerous for casual users. Since it is a bit less important and dangerous, we recommend that you skip this part.
You have already closed Cortana and removed the presence of the app. That should be enough for more peace of mind.
How to disable Cortana in Windows 11
While Cortana is disabled by default in Windows 11, it is possible to bring it back, as we will explain below. If you or someone else does this to your computer, and you want to remove it, you can disable it just as easily.
We have two ways to do this here, and the first one is arguably the easiest.
- Click Windows + I (This is an I, not an L) to open Settings.
- Select Applications from the left menu.
- Select Apps and Features in the left menu.
- Scroll to Cortana, tap the three dots icon and select Advanced options
- Turn the “On at login” switch to the off position.
How to disable Cortana in Windows 11 using Task Manager
This is another way to stop it in its tracks, as you pull Cortana out of your startup apps.
- Right-click on the Windows Start button from the bottom of the screen
- Select Task Manager
- Open the Startup tab
- Find Cortana and right click on it
- Select Disable
How to install Cortana in Windows 11
Windows 11 does not have Cortana active by default. But, what if, just playing with us here, you wanted to enable Cortana in Windows 11?
Fortunately, it’s really easy.
- Click Windows + I (This is an I, not an L) to open Settings.
- Select Applications from the left menu.
- Select Apps and Features in the left menu.
- Scroll to Cortana, tap the three dots icon and select Advanced options
- Turn the “Power on at login” switch to the ON position.
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