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Want to Turn Off Cortana Search Bar on Windows 10? Frustrated with Cortana Search with its slowed performance? This guide will help you to turn off Cortana on Windows 10 easily.
Since the launch of Windows 10, Cortana has become progressively restrictive. Now Cortana always lets you run a Microsoft Edge browser and only uses Bing if you search it. Apart from searching your Computer, it shows notifications, sends e-mails, sets reminders. It may be too intrusive for some to switch the helper off.
While in the days leading up to the Anniversary Update you could switch off Cortana with a single toggle, that's no longer possible. And with the latest Windows 10 Creators Update, Cortana's disabled can completely break search, reports suggest, with the only way to solve it is a clean install.
Since the launch of Windows 10, Cortana has become progressively restrictive. Now Cortana always lets you run a Microsoft Edge browser and only uses Bing if you search it. Apart from searching your Computer, it shows notifications, sends e-mails, sets reminders. It may be too intrusive for some to switch the helper off.
While in the days leading up to the Anniversary Update you could switch off Cortana with a single toggle, that's no longer possible. And with the latest Windows 10 Creators Update, Cortana's disabled can completely break search, reports suggest, with the only way to solve it is a clean install.
Do not allow Cortana to know you
First, let's go to the settings of Cortana to remove all of the different ways it monitors your computer habits.
- Click the Cortana icon next to the Start key.
- Open the settings panel of Cortana with the gear icon.
- Turn off every toggle from On to Off in the settings screen.
- Then scroll to the top of the settings panel and then click Change, what Cortana knows in the cloud about me.
- In the same start panel, Microsoft will fetch a Web page called Personal Information.
- Scroll to the bottom when it loads, and click Clear.
To serve you better, Cortana collects data about your typing and talking, as well. If you’d like to turn that off, follow these steps:
- Hit the Start key.
- Click the Settings gear icon.
- Look for speech, inking & typing in the left panel.
- Click Stop getting to know me.
Cortana will not response your voice once you pass through the above steps. However, it still runs in the background and waits for the call. You have to do more to get rid of it completely. The steps will differ slightly depending on the Windows 10 version you are using – Home, Pro, or Enterprise.
How to disable Cortana on Windows 10 Home
The method to Disable Cortana in Windows 10 is somewhat trickier, with the Windows Registry being edited. We suggest that you take a backup or set a restore point if you are not comfortable with the method.
- Hit the Start key, Search and open the Regedit key.
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows.
- Right-click the Windows directory, select New > Key. Specify Windows Search and press enter.
- Select Windows Search. Right-click in the empty area in the left-hand pane and choose New > DWORD (32bit) value.
- Double-click AllowCortana and type 0 in the Value Data section.
Restart your computer and Cortana is now gone. The new search box will just say "Search Windows" instead of "Ask me anything."
How to disable Cortana on Windows 10 Pro
- Press the Start key, search and open the Edit group policy.
- Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search.
- Find and double-click Allow Cortana to open it.
- Click Disabled and hit OK after that.
In case you need to know about Cortana or download it, here is a link to Microsoft Cortana: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/cortana