Uninstall Cortana completely - Here's how

If you are not using Cortana for Windows 10 voice control, you can block or uninstall the wizard. In this article, we reveal how this works and what you need to consider.

Hide Cortana instead of uninstalling it

The quickest way to get an eye on Cortana is to simply hide it. To do this, right-click on the taskbar and deactivate the "Show Cortana button" option. You can also hide Cortana on the lock screen:

1. Open the start menu and click on the gear icon to call up the "Settings".
2. In the "Cortana" category you will now find the "Lock screen" area.
3. If you flip the switch, Cortana will no longer appear on the lock screen.

Disable Cortana in the registry

A complete deinstallation of Cortana is not necessary. Deactivation is sufficient so that Cortana no longer sends usage data to Microsoft.

1. Press the [Windows] and [R] keys simultaneously so that the "Execute" command opens.
2. Enter "regedit" here and confirm with "OK". Then the registry editor starts.
3. Navigate to the following path on the left: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Windows Search
4. If the "Windows Search" key does not exist, right-click on the "Windows" key to create it yourself.
5. Right-click on the right area and select "DWORD value (32-bit)" under "New".
6. Name the value "AllowCortana" and leave the value at "0".
7. The value "1" reactivates Cortana. Alternatively, you can also delete the value.
8. If you restart Windows, Cortana is no longer active. The search now says "Search Windows" instead of "Ask me something".

Uninstall Cortana - Here's how it works

To completely disable Cortana, you have to dig deeper into the system. This process is not really recommended. Should you decide to use radical removal anyway, note that the search in the Windows taskbar will no longer work after removal. Reinstalling Cortana is no longer possible. For this reason, create a Windows backup beforehand - then you can simply restore Cortana later.

1. Download the free Cortana uninstaller.
2. Unzip the ZIP file into any folder with a program like WinRAR.
3. Then right-click on the "Uninstall Cortana.cmd" file and select the "Run as administrator" option.
4. The Windows command line opens and the uninstallation of Cortana starts. This process can take several minutes.
5. When the "Cortana should be uninstalled" message appears, tap [Enter].
6. Finally restart Windows 10, Cortana no longer appears.