If you’re trying to avoid forced telemetry and similar tracking, you’re generally safer with most of the big Linux distros. Most of them don’t collect data at all, and if they do, it’s usually easy to opt out with just a click.

Going for lesser-known distros does increase your risk a bit, but the fact that they’re open source helps deter some bad actors, since the code can be inspected by others.

And if you’re worried about super-sophisticated backdoors, keep in mind you’re not exactly safe with Microsoft either. A rogue employee could still cause harm, and because it’s closed source, any malicious changes might take way longer to catch.