Cortana

My inner circle and Cortana

When quiet hours are turned on for your Windows Phone 8.1, Cortana will make sure calls or texts don't disturb you. But there are some people you may want to hear from, even during quiet hours. Adding people to your inner circle tells Cortana which people to let through and who can wait a bit.

If you'd like, you can also give those people nicknames so Cortana always knows who you mean when you say you want to call them (Hi, Mom! Hi, Pop!). You can then set some guidelines for Cortana to follow during quiet hours. To learn all about that, see Quiet hours and Cortana.

To add people to your inner circle

Press the Search button to go to Cortana, then tap Cortana's Notebook > Inner circle.
Do one of the following:
- Tap Add , then find the contact you want to add.
- Tap a name from the list of suggested people to add them.
If you'd like, you can give the person a nickname (or two or three) when you add them. If you'd prefer not to, you can just leave those boxes blank and tap Save .

Note

Sometimes, Cortana automatically adds people to your inner circle from your Rooms. If you want, you can remove them anytime.

To remove people from your inner circle

Press the Search button to go to Cortana, then tap Cortana's Notebook > Inner circle.
Tap and hold a name from your inner circle, and then tap Remove. Tap Remove again to confirm at the prompt.

Notes

Cortana is only available on phones with Windows Phone 8.1, and in some countries/regions. Check to see which software version you have and find out if an update is available.
Some features for Cortana may not be available in all countries or regions.
If Cortana isn't available, or you don't want to use it, you can still use the Speech functionality on your phone.

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