fix: Respect send_feature_flags setting and deprecate send_feature_flag_events in get_feature_flag_payload

[dustinbyrne]

Summary

• Fix capture() to respect send_feature_flags=False when local evaluation is enabled
• Deprecate send_feature_flag_events parameter in get_feature_flag_payload() and default it to False

Problem

1. When local evaluation was enabled (personal_api_key set and flags loaded), capture() automatically attached all locally-evaluated feature flags to events, ignoring the send_feature_flags parameter entirely.

2. get_feature_flag_payload() was sending $feature_flag_called events by default, which is unexpected by current SDK standards.

Solution

1. Removed the automatic flag evaluation block in capture() that ran unconditionally when self.feature_flags was populated. Flags are now only attached when send_feature_flags=True is explicitly passed.

2. Changed send_feature_flag_events default to False in get_feature_flag_payload() and added a deprecation warning directing users to use get_feature_flag() if they need events, and remove the deprecated option.

Related to PostHog/posthog#31425

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR fixes a bug where the send_feature_flags parameter was ignored when local evaluation was enabled, and deprecates the send_feature_flag_events parameter in get_feature_flag_payload().

• Removed automatic feature flag evaluation in capture() that ran unconditionally when local flags were loaded
• Changed send_feature_flag_events default to False in get_feature_flag_payload() and added deprecation warning
• Updated tests to explicitly pass send_feature_flag_events=True where event sending is expected

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File	Description
posthog/client.py	Removed automatic local flag evaluation block in capture() method; changed default of send_feature_flag_events to False and added deprecation warning in get_feature_flag_payload()
posthog/test/test_client.py	Added new test to verify send_feature_flags=False with local evaluation doesn't send flags; updated existing tests to pass send_feature_flags=True explicitly
posthog/test/test_feature_flags.py	Renamed test to reflect new behavior of not sending events by default; updated tests to explicitly pass send_feature_flag_events=True where event capture is expected

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