VS Code comes default with "you need to turn this on" when it comes to invasive telemetry. If you don't want it at all, you must compile it yourself (as there are chunks of the telemetry you can't turn off without a compile flag). When you compile it yourself, it's unclear whether or not you can actually use the plugins that exist.

Without plugins, you are left with a text editor of only nominal use and mediocre novelty. That, or enabling telemetry. That's a pretty coercive pattern.