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Disable Visual Studio Code data collection

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Works with any Linux distroWorks with any Linux distribution that can run bash scripts.
  • Linux onlyThis script improves your privacy on Linux
  • Multiple actionsThis page belongs to a category, containing some changes with similar goal.
  • Impact: Minimum

    System Functionality / Data Loss Risk: Low

    This action improves privacy with minimal impact when you run the recommended script.

  • Bash (Shell script)These changes use Linux system commands to update your settings.
  • 15 scripts
  • 2 categories
  • Sudo/root requiredThis script requires privilege access to do the system changes
  • Fully reversible

    You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.

    The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.

Overview​

Visual Studio Code, also commonly referred to as VS Code, is a source-code editor made by Microsoft 1.

Visual Studio Code makes outgoing network requests to collect data in the background without users invoking a feature that requires online access 2. The requests include, but are not limited to, automatic extension update checks, querying settings for A/B experiments, and fetching online data for auto-completion 2.

In addition, Visual Studio Code collects and transmits telemetry data to Microsoft servers, such as 3:

  • Diagnostic information about your system and usage is sent to Microsoft servers 3.
  • Your usage data and data about feature performance 3.
Safe for General Use
This script has Normal protection level option. This is recommended for all users to improve without any noticeable impact on the system functionality.
Sources
PrivacyLearn.com maintains strict sourcing standards for accuracy, integrity and up-to-date content. Our content relies on authoritative sources including vendor documentation, industry standards, and verified research. Learn more about our verification process and quality standards in our editorial standards page.

Apply Now​

Choose one of two ways to apply:

Download script​

Download and run the script directly
  • No app needed
  • Offline usage
  • Free
  • Open-source

Normal — Everyday Privacy (Enterprise-Grade)​

  • Recommended for all
  • Safe for daily use
  • No impact on system stability

Read more about Normal and other protection levels

Help

How to apply or restore "Disable Visual Studio Code data collection" using script​

  • ≈ 3 min to complete
  • Tools: Web Browser
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • ≈ 6 instructions
  1. 1

    Choose protection

    Choose one of the options with different impact levels:

    • Normal

      Some safe changes minimal system impact.

    • High

      Some potentially impactful changes with moderate system impact.

    • Maximum

      Some impactful changes with high system impact.
  2. 2

    Download

    Download the script file by clicking on the   Apply protection  button above.
    Use   Undo protection button above to restore changes.
  3. 3

    Keep the file

    If warned by your browser, keep the file.
  4. 4

    Open

    Open the downloaded file.
  5. 5

    Exit

    Once it's done, press any key to exit the window.
  6. 6

    Restart

    Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.

Apply with privacy.sexy​

Guided, automated application with safety checks
  • Recommended for most users
  • Includes safety checks
  • Shows the code
  • Free
  • Open-source
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Help

How to apply or restore "Disable Visual Studio Code data collection" using privacy.sexy​

  • ≈ 3 min to complete
  • Tools: privacy.sexy
  • Difficulty: Simple
  • ≈ 4 instructions
privacy.sexy is free and open-source application that lets securely apply this action easily with more advanced options.
  1. 1

    Open or download

    Open or download the desktop application
  2. 2

    Choose script

    1. Search for the category name: Disable Visual Studio Code data collection
    2. Check the category by clicking on the checkbox of the category.

    Applying Normal to limit the impact.

  3. 3

    Run

    Click on ▶️ Run button at the bottom of the page.

    This button only appears on desktop version (recommended). On browser, use 💾 Save button.

Explore This Guide​

  • 15 Privacy settings
  • 2 Main categories
    • These settings are organized into 2 main categories for easy navigation.
    • Each main category contains subcategories, helping you find specific settings you might want to adjust.
  • 2 Total categories

Choose what to protect based on your needs:

Click any option to learn more about what it does.

Each change can be applied and reversed individually.

  • Some settings and commands may require technical knowledge to apply correctly.
  • Most users find the Normal protection above sufficient.

Disable Visual Studio Code telemetry

The "telemetry.telemetryLevel" preference can be adjusted as follows: "default" (on): Transmits usage data, errors, and crash reports. • "error": Transmits general error telemetry and crash reports. • "crash": Transmits OS-level crash reports. • "off": Disables all product telemetry. This script disables telemetry data, which includes usage data, errors, and crash reports. The "telemetry.enableTelemetry" was the primary option to disable telemetry collection. This disabled the collection of diag...

Disable online experiments by Microsoft in Visual Studio Code

VS Code employs experiments to test new features or gradually roll them out. The experimentation framework communicates with Microsoft servers. This setting is enabled by default. This script disables fetching experiments from a Microsoft online service. It accomplishes this by setting "workbench.enableExperiments" to "false".

Disable Visual Studio Code automatic updates in favor of manual updates

By default, VS Code is configured to automatically update when new versions are released. Automatic updates reduce your control over privacy by sending data to Microsoft servers. On Linux, updates are often handled by the system package manager, rendering this setting redundant. To opt out of auto-updates, the Update: Mode ("update.mode") setting is changed from default to none. "update.mode" has replaced the older "update.channel" setting. · Issue #70084 · microsoft/vscode · GitHub | github.com

Disable fetching release notes from Microsoft servers after an update

This script prevents Visual Studio Code from displaying release notes after an update. Release notes are fetched from a Microsoft online service and thus expose data about you, such as your IP address, to Microsoft. It is enabled by default and can be disabled by setting "update.showReleaseNotes" to "false".

Disable automatic fetching of remote repositories in Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) periodically fetches changes from remote repositories. This feature lets VS Code display how many changes your local repository is ahead or behind the remote. This script disables the automatic fetching, providing you more control over when you communicate with remote servers. Note that this feature shares data not with Microsoft, but with the servers hosting the remote repositories you're working with. As of VS Code 1.19, this feature is disabled by default, althoug...

Disable fetching package information from NPM and Bower in Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code fetches data from NPM and Bower to provide autocompletion and hover information for npm dependencies. By default, this feature is enabled and fetches data from "https://registry.npmjs.org" and "https://registry.bower.io". This script prevents the automatic fetching of package information. You can disable this feature by setting "npm.fetchOnlinePackageInfo" to "false".

Disable sending search queries to Microsoft in Visual Studio Code

By default, Visual Studio Code sends setting search queries to Microsoft servers. This is part of the natural language search mode, which is powered by a Microsoft online service. You can disable this feature by setting "enableNaturalLanguageSettingsSearch" to "false". For more information, see [Settings search | Feature announcement](https://web.archive.org/web/20221029223417/https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-docs/blob/8f6d43a3b24d8661f25f93d5e679c3e6ee1191b6/release-notes/v1_20.md#settings-s...

Disable Visual Studio Code automatic type acquisition in TypeScript

This script disables (Reference: automatic type acquisition), a feature that fetches "@types" packages from npm to improve IntelliSense for external libraries. Although this feature is disabled by default, you can ensure it's off by setting "typescript.disableAutomaticTypeAcquisition" to "false".

Disable Visual Studio Code Edit Sessions

Edit Sessions is a Visual Studio Code feature that synchronizes uncommitted changes between VS Code for the Web (e.g., GitHub Codespaces) and the Desktop version, storing data in the Microsoft Cloud. This script disables Edit Sessions and its more granular subsettings like "workbench.experimental.editSessions.autoStore", "workbench.editSessions.autoResume", and "workbench.editSessions.continueOn".

Similar Guides​

Wider Goal​

The guide below includes this guide to achieve a wider goal.

See other more general settings that includes this one as one of its actions.

These plans combine multiple privacy settings, including this one, for stronger protection.

These scripts configure third-party applications installed on Linux distributions to harden their security and privacy to protect your data. They scripts differ fr...

— Configure programs

Same Goal​

Other guides in Configure programs 

See settings that are in the same category as this guide.

Using other actions in the same category may help you achieve your goal better.

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About the Creators​

These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:

  • Avatar of undergroundwires. The creator of PrivacyLearn and privacy.sexy. Black and white portrait showing a person wearing a polka dot tie and suit jacket, reflecting the professional expertise behind the privacy protection tools.
    • Certified security professional
    • 7+ years experience securing banks
    • Open-source developer since 2005
    • EU advisor, Public Speaker, Moderator
    • Hundreds across the globe
    • Testers, reviewers, developers
    • Companies, military agencies
    • Community since 2017
About Us

Reviewed By​

This guide has undergone comprehensive auditing and peer review:

  • Expert review by undergroundwires​

    • Verified technical accuracy and editorial standards
    • Assessed system impact and user privacy risks

  • Public review by large community​

    • Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
    • Millions of end-users tested across different environments

History​

We continually monitor our guides, their impact and all other privacy options. We update our guides when new information becomes available. On every update, we publicly store who made the change, what has been changed, why the change was made and when the change was made.

Review Change History Our Change Process