Just a few weeks ago we learned a curious news. One in four people have fantasies about Cortana and other virtual assistants. And while some enjoy fantasizing about them, others prefer not even to get close.
If you use Windows 10 you will know that the virtual assistant Cortana is included as standard in the operating system. But you may not even know what it is. Or that it bothers you and you don't want to use it in any way. Well, you should know that there is the possibility of completely deactivating Cortana in Windows 10 . And definitely forget about him.
How to disable Cortana in Windows 10
As we have indicated, the personal assistant Cortana is activated by default in Windows 10 . Basic deactivation is very easy. Although if you don't know how to do it, here are the instructions:
1. Open Cortana. You can do it from the task bar at the bottom or by searching for the application, after having pressed the Start menu button.
2. Next, click on the Settings option (the gears icon).
3. Uncheck the box Cortana can give you suggestions, ideas, reminders, alerts, and so on.
If you just want to remove Cortana from the taskbar , you can also do the following:
1. Another option can be simply to disable Cortana from the taskbar . And make it disappear like that. Right-click on the Cortana icon.
2. Choose Cortana and select the Hidden option . You will see that the icon disappears and you have more room to store other applications that also interest you.
How to turn Cortana off completely
But disabling Cortana completely from Windows 10 is not that easy. Many users may be comfortable with the first option of temporarily disabling the wizard. However, those who are concerned about privacy (and have doubts about the type of information Cortana might be storing about them) or don't want to carry such a heavy program will always have the option to disable it entirely.
Keep in mind that the searches we carry out (whether through text or with voice instructions) are always sent to Microsoft. The goal is to provide Redmond with more information to be more accurate in its predictions and actions .
Furthermore, for many users this program may be taking up precious space that they could be using for other more useful tools.
But beware. We would not recommend you never carry out this action, if we do not have technical knowledge. Any mistake can ruin the proper functioning of the operating system . However, and as long as you do it at your own risk, to completely deactivate Cortana you have to do the following:
1. First click on the start button and type “regedit” . When you're inside, open this subfolder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows \ WcmSvc
2. If you see that this folder is missing, you will have to add it yourself. Click on the right mouse button and choose New, select Password and name it WindowsSearch .
3. The next thing you will have to do is click again (having selected the WindowsSearch folder) and select New. In this case, in addition, you will also have to click on the DWORD option (32 bits). Put this name: AllowCortana . The value must always be 0.
4. Finally, you only have to restart your computer . Cortana will already be deactivated permanently.
In principle, when you have eliminated Cortana, all the information that the assistant has been collecting from us to provide us with its service will also have been struck down.