Avoid hyperlinked TOC if hyperref is used

Hyperref has a somewhat under-documented switch for this:

\documentclass{article}


\usepackage{hyperref}

\makeatletter
\let\Hy@linktoc\Hy@linktoc@none
\makeatother



\begin{document}

\tableofcontents

\section{aaa}
aaa
\section{bbb}
bbb
\end{document}

There is the option linktocpage for hyperref; it defaults to 'false', while:

\usepackage[linktocpage=true]{hyperref}

will make the page numbers rather than the text of the ToC the active link. This, along with the suggestion of @cmhughes will minimize how 'clickable' your ToC is and even make it look like there are no links to click on.

Modern versions of hyperref also have the linktoc option which supports section, page, both, or none. If you want to remove all links then none is the option you want.

\usepackage[linktoc=none]{hyperref}