Appendix: Privacy — What We Turned Off and Why
The settings in these guides disable optional data collection and experimental features.
Here's exactly what that means, in plain language.
In Claude Code (CLI and VSCode)
Your settings.json includes these lines:
| Setting |
What it does |
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC |
A master switch that turns off usage telemetry, error reporting, the feedback command, and automatic updates — all in one. |
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_FEEDBACK_SURVEY |
Suppresses the occasional "How is Claude doing this session?" survey prompt. (Not covered by the master switch above, so it's listed separately.) |
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS |
Turns off experimental/beta features. As a bonus, it also improves compatibility with gateways like Cornell's that can reject experimental request headers. |
In Claude Desktop (Cowork 3P)
The toggles you enable in Telemetry & updates:
| Toggle |
What it does |
| Block nonessential telemetry |
No product-usage analytics leave your computer. |
| Block nonessential services |
Stops optional cosmetic web fetches. Note: artifact previews and connector icons won't render in conversations. |
| Block essential telemetry (optional) |
No crash/error reports leave your computer either. The most private setting; note that it also removes remote crash visibility if you ever need support. |
What still connects to the internet
Even with everything above turned off, two destinations remain necessary:
api.ai.it.cornell.edu — Cornell's gateway, where your prompts are actually
answered.downloads.claude.ai (Claude Desktop only) — used once at startup to load the
Cowork workspace.
Your prompts go to Cornell's gateway, governed by Cornell's policies — not to a
personal Anthropic account.
Questions about data handling or the gateway? Email itrequests@business.cornell.edu.