VS Code connects to https://bingsettingssearch.trafficmanager.net despite telemetry is disabled

[cig0]

I'm not sure what's happening here as every time I start typing for a pattern in the Search Settings text field, VS Code will connect to some external service running at the URL provided in the topic of this ticket:

 // Telemetry
    "telemetry.enableTelemetry": false,

• VSCode Version: Version 1.20.1 (1.20.1) f88bbf9 2018-02-13T15:18:47.464Z
• OS Version: macOS 10.13.3 (17D102)

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Ensure that telemetry.* settings are disabled
2. Go to Preferences -> Settings (or just ⌘,)

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes

[RMacfarlane]

This is not for telemetry, the settings search is using that external service to improve search results. You can disable this with "workbench.settings.enableNaturalLanguageSearch": false. @roblourens can provide more info about this feature

[cig0]

I see, this must have started happening with the introduction of the new "Natural Language Search" functionality added in 1.20.
I have mixed feelings about this, though: while I appreciate the work done to make VSCode easier to use, I'm not so happy with having to tap network leaks that I didn't know were there.
It would be nice to have a built-in option to disable all VSCode outgoing network connections, that doesn't affect the extensions.