Cortana cannot be disabled on Windows 10, but In-fact in can be
Cortana is one of the popular features of windows 10, Microsoft names it as the most modern and efficient digital personal assistant shipped with Windows.
In Windows 10, Cortana is present on the search bar of the taskbar and the current RTM build allows you to switch Cortana on/off. When Cortana is off, then it doesn’t track your search habits, responds to the voice commands etc etc.
But with the Anniversary update being released this August of 2nd, Microsoft has removed the ability to turn off Cortana. As a consequence, It would automatically record your search habits and everything you interact with it and if your MS account is linked with it, it would save it to your account.Microsoft told PC world that
In Windows 10, Cortana is present on the search bar of the taskbar and the current RTM build allows you to switch Cortana on/off. When Cortana is off, then it doesn’t track your search habits, responds to the voice commands etc etc.
But with the Anniversary update being released this August of 2nd, Microsoft has removed the ability to turn off Cortana. As a consequence, It would automatically record your search habits and everything you interact with it and if your MS account is linked with it, it would save it to your account.Microsoft told PC world that
Customers can expect the same great search experience powered by Bing and Microsoft Edge with the added benefit of Cortana’s personality.
As Windows 10 updates are automatic, Anniversary update would be installed in your systems by default as soon as it is made available, so skipping the update isn’t an option. However there still exists a tip which you can use to disable the Cortana. Follow the steps when you have Anniversary update Installed:
- Navigate to settings app
- Click on system and then on the left click Speech, Inking and typing.
- On the left, click Stop getting to know me as shown:
- This would make sure that Cortana cannot save your searches etc.
The next step you need which is optional is to hide the search box if you want:
- Right click the Taskbar and select settings.
- Select Hidden in Cortana menu.
Disabling however has some disadvantages as well(you cannot use cortana up to that extent!) but still who do not want to pipe their data to Redmond servers can do this for sure.