[guappa]

VScode phones home… what's the difference?

Use something like emacs/vim/kate/eclipse/qtcreator if you want to avoid "phone home" software.

[rubslopes]

If an American company does something bad with my data, it's possible -- not guaranteed, but possible -- that it will be punished.

If a Chinese company does the same, at most someone in China will shrug.

[guappa]

But giving it to the government in USA is considered "good", so they won't be punished no.