I've avoided Ubuntu since the Amazon-search issue, so I haven't tested 18.04 personally, but the second article I linked to says: "This data collection is turn

I've avoided Ubuntu since the Amazon-search issue, so I haven't tested 18.04 personally, but the second article I linked to says: "This data collection is turned on by default" I took this to mean that telemetry was being collected and, if someone desired, could be turned off after the fact. I have a problem with telemetry being opt-out (it should always be opt-in). If Ubuntu is prompting to allow or disallow the collection of data, then that is good news, as people are being asked for their informed consent.