Yeah same here I got zero tolerance with spyware/telemetry and it’s one of the main reasons I switched to Linux in the first place.
Do I believe KDE would misuse my data? Nope not really but it’s not something I want to promote no matter how anonymized the data is or how nicely they ask.
Same rule goes for any project even ones I’ve donated money to.
Yeah pretty much.
Unless you want to build your own car from the ground up, which you can do in most places if it passes safety regulations. But that takes time, money, workspace and knowing what you’re even doing.