When there is something that is special about Windows 10 then that is the Cortana integration. Cortana is the digital assistant that may perform a lot of things. If you don't like Cortana or otherwise while using digital assistant feature, it is simple to disable Cortana permanently on Windows 10 from Group Policy Editor.

When I say Cortana can perform several things, I'm talking about basic items like creating reminders, settings up alarms, helping you with definitions, spellings, and conversations, etc. As you can guess, Cortana has a long distance to visit prior to it being really useful. I am talking about, you cannot use Cortana to shutdown or schedule Windows shutdown, you cannot ask Cortana to spread out a file or program, cannot uninstall programs using Cortana, etc. Add to all this, Cortana collects a lot of data about you. Even Microsoft knows this and separating Windows search and Cortana.

If you are much like me and never using Cortana all that much or whatsoever, you can easily disable Cortana completely with just several clicks. Allow me to show you how.

Disable Cortana Permanently

There are two methods to disable Cortana permanently. The very first method follows the audience policy editor and the second method follows the registry editor. If you're Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise user, stick to the group policy editor. Home users can stick to the registry editor method.

Prior to making any changes to your system, it is better to create a system restore point on Windows 10. The restore point will help you restore your system to the know good state.

Method 1: Disable Cortana Directly from Group Policy

Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise users have access to group policy editor that makes it really simple to show off Cortana permanently with only a few clicks. All you need to do is find the policy and disable it. It is very easy to do, just stick to the below steps.

Open the beginning menu.
Search for "gpedit.msc" and open Group Policy Editor.
Go to "Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Search".
On the right pane, find and open "Allow Cortana" policy.
Select "Disabled" radio option within the policy settings window.
Click "Apply".
Click "Ok".
Restart Windows.

That is, you've disabled Cortana permanently fitted 10 system. If you want to enable Cortana back again, just select "Enabled" or "Not configured" in step 5 and save changes.

Method 2: Turn Off Cortana Permanently from Registry Editor

Home edition users do not have access to group policy editor. So, as an alternative, you should use the registry editor to disable Cortana permanently on Windows 10. Although it isn't very difficult to follow along with the registry method, produce a registry backup prior to making any changes simply to be safe and sound.

2.1 Registry shortcut to disable Cortana (simple and easy , automatic method):

To make life easier for you, I've created a registry shortcut which you'll download and execute to disable Cortana. The good thing is, the reg file will automatically create and configure the required keys and values automatically. Curious users can open the .reg file with Notepad to determine what keys and values we are creating.

Note: If you're not comfortable with downloading files, follow the manual method shown below.

Download disable Cortana reg file, open the zip file and extract .reg file towards the desktop. Double-click on the "DisableCortana.reg" file. When warned or prompted click on the "Yes" buttons to merge the registry settings.

That is it. Restart your system and Cortana will be disabled completely. If you wish to enable Cortana, download enable Cortana reg file and stick to the above steps.

2.2 Manual method:

Open the start menu.
Search for "regedit" and open registry editor.
Go to "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows".
Right-click around the "Windows" key on the left pane and select "New -> Key".
Name the brand new key as "Windows Search"
Select the newly created Windows Search key on the left pane.
On the best pane, right-click and select "New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value".
Name the value as "AllowCortana".
Double-click on the AllowCortana value.
Set value data to "0".
Click "Ok" in order to save changes.

That's it.

Restart your system and Windows 10 will automatically disable Cortana permanently. If you wish to enable Cortana later on, set the worth data to "1" in step 10 or delete the AllowCortana value from the registry.

Conclusion

As you can tell, it is rather simple to disable Cortana permanently on Windows 10. If you're still seeing the Cortana icon around the taskbar, right-click around the taskbar and select "Cortana -> Hidden".