[FEATURE] Display telemetry notification and destination on startup
Preflight Checklist
- [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
- [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)
Problem Statement
Currently, when OpenTelemetry telemetry is enabled (especially via managed-settings), Claude Code silently begins transmitting data without user awareness. This raises security and privacy concerns:
- Users may not know their usage data is being collected and transmitted
- Data includes personal information (email addresses, user IDs, session IDs, organization IDs)
- When
OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS=1is set, prompt content is also logged - In enterprise environments, telemetry may be configured via managed-settings without individual users' explicit knowledge or consent
- Data is sent to third-party services (Datadog, Grafana, Honeycomb, etc.) that users have no direct contractual relationship with
This lack of transparency is a security concern and doesn't align with best practices for informed consent.
Proposed Solution
On startup, when telemetry is enabled (CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY=1), display a notification showing:
- That telemetry is active
- The destination endpoint (
OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINTvalue) - What types of data are being collected (metrics, logs, and whether prompts are included)
- Option to proceed or disable for current session
Example output:
⚠️ OpenTelemetry Telemetry Active
Endpoint: https://company-monitoring.example.com:4317
Collecting: Metrics, Logs
Prompt logging: Enabled (OTEL_LOG_USER_PROMPTS=1)
Press Enter to continue or Ctrl+C to exit
This ensures users are aware of data transmission before it begins, similar to how browsers and other IDEs handle telemetry.
Alternative Solutions
- Display notification only on first startup (less secure but less intrusive)
- Add a
/telemetry statuscommand to check current configuration (reactive rather than proactive) - Log telemetry information to a file instead of interactive prompt (less visible to users)
- Add a configuration option to suppress the notification (allows informed users to opt out of the prompt)
Priority
Medium - Would be very helpful
Feature Category
Configuration and settings
Use Case Example
Scenario: An employee at a company starts Claude Code, unaware that their IT department has configured managed-settings to send all telemetry (including prompts) to a company monitoring server.
Current behavior: Claude Code starts silently, and all usage data begins transmitting to the company server without the employee's knowledge.
Proposed behavior: On startup, Claude Code displays:
⚠️ OpenTelemetry Telemetry Active
Endpoint: https://monitoring.company.com:4317
Collecting: Metrics, Logs, Prompts
Press Enter to continue or Ctrl+C to exit
The employee is now aware they're being monitored and can make informed decisions about what they work on in Claude Code.
Additional Context
- Related to Issue #5508 which addresses inability to disable telemetry, but this is a separate concern about user awareness even when telemetry is intentionally enabled
- Similar transparency features exist in VS Code, Docker Desktop, and major browsers
- This aligns with employment law in many jurisdictions requiring employee notification of monitoring
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