Josh -
There are 2 types http requests - the first being to download pgAdmin or PostgreSQL Studio if selected by the user. The description for those components says that a xxMB download is required and the user could choose to not install them to avoid the http request.
The 2nd type is to update the list of components and versions available for install or update - which we are going to change to be explicit rather than implicit. I think _most_ users today expect auto checks to see if updates are available (think every smart phone, modern OS X and Windows, desktop apps like Atom, etc, etc). But it's not the majority of casual users that complain about privacy issues - it's the small group of vocal people concerned enough to look that do. So we are going to change to not update the package list during the install but leave it to the user for afterwards.
-Dave