WiseCleaner Think Tank
Encounter difficult computer problems?
All about maintenance and optimization of your Windows System.
Jul 16, 2025
Cortana is Microsoft’s virtual assistant originally introduced in Windows 10 and designed to help users with tasks like setting reminders, answering questions, managing calendars, searching the web, and controlling Windows functions using voice or text commands.
However, as user needs have shifted, many people now prefer to disable Cortana—whether for privacy reasons, system performance, or simply because they don’t use voice assistants. While Microsoft has reduced Cortana's role in recent updates, especially in Windows 11, it may still be active on your system. This article guides you through how to disable Cortana on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and then press the Enter key or click on OK.
Navigate to the following task in Local Group Policy Editor:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search
On the right-side pane, right-click on Allow Cortana, and select Edit.
Set it to Disabled, then click Apply and OK.
Restart your computer to make the changes take effect.
Disabling or uninstalling Cortana can streamline your Windows experience, improve privacy, and slightly reduce background resource usage. Whether you're using Windows 10 or 11, the process is simple and reversible if needed. If you want to schedule automatic shutdown, restart, log-off, sleep, hibernate, and power-off tasks on your Windows computer, consider using alternatives like Wise Auto Shutdown.
