Make VS Code less intrusive

I do not like VS Code (why?). For some reason I still need to install and use it. This is the list of settings I immediately add to a new installations of VS Code.

{
  "update.mode": "manual",
  "telemetry.telemetryLevel": "off",

  "workbench.startupEditor": "none",
  "workbench.editor.empty.hint": "hidden",
  
  // marking non-ASCII chars by default is disrespectful
  "editor.unicodeHighlight.ambiguousCharacters": false,
    
  "extensions.autoUpdate": false,
  "extensions.ignoreRecommendations": true,
}