Disable Visual Studio Code data collection
- Multiple actionsThis page belongs to a category, containing some changes with similar goal.
- Linux onlyThis script improves your privacy on Linux
- Impact: MinimumSystem Functionality 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
- 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.
Sources
- Visual Studio Code - Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org. (2022).
Original: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Studio_Code
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221029142001/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Studio_Code - Visual Studio Code July 2018. code.visualstudio.com. (2022).
Original: https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_26
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221029170840/https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_26#_offline-mode - Visual Studio Code Telemetry. code.visualstudio.com. (2022).
Original: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/telemetry
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20221029171138/https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/telemetry
Apply Now
Choose one of two ways to apply:
- Normal
- High
- Maximum
Normal — Functional Privacy
- Recommended for all
- Safe for daily use
- No impact on system stability
Read more about Normal and other protection levels
High — Advanced Privacy
- For advanced privacy-conscious users
- May affect some features
Read more about High and other protection levels
Maximum — Strongest Possible Privacy
- Military-grade privacy protection
- Major system impact
- Consider having system backup.
Read more about Maximum 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
- 2
Download
Download the script file by clicking on thebutton above.
Use button above to restore changes. - 3
Keep the file
If warned by your browser, keep the file. - 4
Open
Open the downloaded file. - 5
Exit
Once it's done, press any key to exit the window. - 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
- Popular
- Offline/Online usage
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
- 2
Choose script
- Search for the category name: Disable Visual Studio Code data collection
- Check the category by clicking on the checkbox of the category.
Applying Normal to limit the impact.
- 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.
- Main categories may contain subcategories, further organizing related functionality.
- 2 Total categories
Choose what to protect based on your needs:This script already includes these options.
You can review, apply or reverse each option individually.
Click any option to learn more about what it does.
- Some settings and commands may require technical knowledge to apply correctly.
- Most users find the Normal protection above sufficient.
Configure auto-update settings for Visual Studio Code extensions
These scripts control the automatic update behavior of extensions. Updates are fetched from Microsoft servers. Use of online Microsoft services...
Disable data sharing for Visual Studio Code "Settings Sync"
Settings Sync is a Visual Studio Code feature that synchronizes settings, keybindings, and installed extensions across different machines. ...
Disable Visual Studio Code telemetry
The telemetry.telemetryLevel preference can be adjusted as follows: default (on): Transmits usage data, errors, and crash reports. • `error...
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...
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...
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 servic...
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 loc...
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 featu...
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 po...
Disable Visual Studio Code automatic type acquisition in TypeScript
This script disables [automatic type acquisition](https://web.archive.org/web/20221029223431/https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/nodejs/working-...
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) a...
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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.
About the Creators
These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:
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
- Audited and verified using automated security tests
Public review by large community
- Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
- Millions of end-users tested across different environments
- Audited and verified using third-party security software
History
We continually monitor our guides, their impact and other potential 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.