Cortana was Microsoft’s Windows voice assistant. It has been retired as a standalone consumer app, but some Windows 10 PCs still have Cortana settings, background behavior, or old voice activation features.
This mainly applies to Windows 10. Most Windows 11 PCs no longer include Cortana.
Does This Affect You?
If Cortana still opens, listens for a wake phrase, appears in search, or runs in the background, disable permissions first. Use Group Policy or Registry if you want a firmer system-level block.
Turn Off Cortana Permissions
- Open the Start menu, search for Cortana, and open the app if it appears.
- Open Cortana settings, or go to Windows privacy/search permission settings if the app will not open.
- Turn off wake phrase or voice activation options such as Hey Cortana.
- Disable cloud speech, location, notification, and account permissions connected to Cortana.
- Sign out of Cortana if your Microsoft account is connected.
Block Cortana with Group Policy
Use this on Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education.
- Press Windows key + R, type
gpedit.msc, and press Enter. - Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search.
- Open Allow Cortana.
- Set it to Disabled.
- Restart the PC.
Block Cortana with Registry Editor
Use this on Windows 10 Home if Group Policy Editor is unavailable. Edit only these values.
- Press Windows key + R, type
regedit, and press Enter. - Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows. - Create a key named Windows Search if it does not already exist.
- Inside that key, create a DWORD (32-bit) Value named AllowCortana.
- Set AllowCortana to 0 and restart.
Extra Cortana Notes
Uninstall the App
If Cortana is still installed as an app, you can remove it from an administrator PowerShell or Terminal session using the appropriate AppxPackage removal command for Cortana.
Why It May Already Be Missing
Microsoft retired Cortana as a standalone consumer app in 2023, so updated Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems may not show it at all.
What Replaced It
Microsoft moved assistant features toward Copilot, which is chat-based and does not work like the old wake-word Cortana service.
If Voice Activation Still Responds
Check Settings > Time & Language > Speech and turn off online speech recognition if older speech features are still active.
Sources
- Microsoft Support: Cortana app retirement
- Microsoft Learn: Allow Cortana policy
- Microsoft Support: Manage app permissions for Cortana