How to uninstall Cortana

Cortana is a virtual assistant developed by Microsoft that uses the Bing search engine to perform tasks such as setting reminders and answering questions for the user. How to uninstall Cortana

Cortana is currently available in English, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese language editions, depending on the software platform and region in which it is used.

Microsoft began reducing the prevalence of Cortana and converting it from an assistant into different software integrations in 2019. It was split from the Windows 10 search bar in April 2019. In January 2020, the Cortana mobile app was removed from certain markets, and on March 31, 2021, the Cortana mobile app was shut down globally.

Cortana can integrate with third-party apps on Windows 10 or directly through the service. Starting in late 2016, Cortana integrated with Microsoft’s Wunderlist service, allowing Cortana to add and act on reminders.

At Microsoft’s Build 2017 conference, Microsoft announced that Cortana would get a consumer third-party skills capability, similar to that in Amazon Alexa.

On February 16, 2018, Microsoft announced connected home skills were added for ecobee, Honeywell Lyric, Honeywell Total Connect Comfort, LIFX, TP-Link Kasa, and Geeni, as well as support for IFTTT. At Microsoft’s Ignite 2018 conference, Microsoft announced an Technology Adopters Program that Enterprises could build skills that could be developed and deployed into Azure tenants, accessible by organizational units or security groups.

Here’s how to disable or manage Cortana in Windows

How to disable Cortana in Windows 10

1. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. In Task Manager, click the Startup column.
3. Select Cortana.
4. Click Disable.
5. Then, open the Start menu.
6. Find Cortana under All Apps.
7. Right-click on Cortana.
8. Select More. 
9. Click on App settings.
10. Turn off the switch next to ‘Runs at log-in.’

How to uninstall the Cortana app in Windows 10

These steps require a little tinkering, so a word of caution. Since you’re going to be poking around in PowerShell, back up your system first. Our best cloud backup solutions provide easy ways to protect your data.

1. Open the Start Menu and type in PowerShell.
2. Right click on Windows PowerShell.
3. Select ‘Run as administrator’.
4. Type the following text (minus the ‘ marks) in: ‘Get-AppxPackage -allusers Microsoft.549981C3F5F10 | Remove-AppxPackage’
5. Press Enter.

How to disable Cortana in Windows 11

While Cortana comes disabled by default in Windows 11, it’s possible to bring it back, as we’ll explain below. If you, or someone else, did that to your PC, and you want to remove it you can disable it just as easily. We’ve got two ways to do it here, and our first is arguably the easiest.

1. Click Windows + I (that’s an I not an L) to open Settings.
2. Select Apps from the left menu. 
3. Select Apps and Features on the right menu.
4. Scroll to Cortana, click the three dots icon and select Advanced options
5. Flip the “Run at Log-in” toggle to the OFF position.

How to disable Cortana in Windows 11 with the Task Manager

This is another way to stop it in its tracks, pulling Cortana out of your Startup apps.

1. Right-click the Windows Start button from the bottom of the screen
2. Select Task Manager
3. Open the Startup tab
4. Find and right-click Cortana
5. Select Disable

How to install Cortana in Windows 11

Windows 11 doesn’t even have Cortana active by default. But, what if, just play along with us here, you wanted to enable Cortana in Windows 11? Fortunately, it’s really easy.

1. Click Windows + I (that’s an I not an L) to open Settings.
2. Select Apps from the left menu. 
3. Select Apps and Features on the right menu.
4. Scroll to Cortana, click the three dots icon and select Advanced options
5. Turn the “Run at Log-in” toggle to the ON position.

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