That is your data they are taking to make money off of without your consent

I mean... They're a for-profit company, so literally anything they do is to make money.

But it's not "my data", it's anonymous. The "engagement" info is in relation to features. That's why some features are removed - because nobody uses them. Or rather: not enough people use them to warrant maintenance.

And how do you know it’s not malicious in nature?

Because I have a functioning brain.

I’d like to know what your definition of “malicious” is

Malware is designed to hurt you by extracting your personal information or resources.

Telemetry is designed to give developers feedback about product/functionality usage and is anonymous.

you’re just fine with letting a Corpo run system look at everything you’re doing.

I'm not, and it's not. Unlike you, I actually checked what data telemetry gathers and I'm perfectly fine with it. It's inconsequential and anonymous.

Are you a tech-illiterate person?

If not, explain how is it malicious.