It’s absolutely insane how many things need turning off to gain some modicum of privacy with win10, I refuse to upgrade but imagine it’s worse in win11.
Totally understand the love for Linux. If my audio interface & DAW were compatible I would investigated switching way back. There are other interfaces which appear to be compatible, and other DAWs, but I am highly proficient in the one I’ve used for ~15 years and don’t want to invest time learning a new one; and my audio interface lets me use very, very high end emulations of hardware (UAD).
Seriously considering Linux for potential future live PA work though. Stability is appealing for live stuff!