[martpie]

Counter-opinion here: I am the maintainer of one of the most popular plugin for Next.js, and I am cruelly lacking data about how the users of my plugin use it, that would allow me to choose better defaults for it.

I don't have access to the Next.js telemetry data, but I could definitely need to ask the Next.js team from time to time: "so, are your users more using Yarn workspaces? Or npm link? Or something else?", etc.

For the same reasons some people complains about Ubuntu removing some features because they say "people don't use it", while people using those features tend to disable the telemetry. Sometimes, telemetry is useful.

It is not to spy on users, it is about making the best technical choices to ensure the best Developer Experience.

_edit: typos_

[westoque]

It's not really about the user spying though, it's about the decision of making the user default of "yes, please track my usage so you can make your product better". I would rather have you ask the question first even though I mostly say yes, but transparency is key here.

[_odey]

I agree with this, just ask for consent, it's that simple.

Also, about removing features based on telemetry, of course people are going to disable or block data collection and you will make decisions based on incomplete data. If you must remove something, do it because it makes sense and it fits within your vision for the future of the project you maintain.

[dariusj18]

Perhaps it would be better if there was a trusted co-op that ran a telemetry service that package maintainers could opt into and create integrations which could properly anonymize and provide open data for analytics. Similar to how npm shows the number of downloads.

[Dma54rhs]

I don't think anyone disagrees but lately the society has been talking about something called consent. That matters with software as well.