who do you think is maintaining a majority of packages of linux? there are plenty of reasons to use Linux over windows, I haven't touched windows in a good year or two, but it is immensely less secure without significant hardening efforts that aren't exactly trivial to understand. Windows isn't great on security either, MacOS is ahead of it and ChromeOS is even farther.

I will concede, assuming you have the in-depth knowledge required, you can build a more secure platform with Linux due to the ability to compile the kernel with only needed features and being able to fully control what is allowed. out of the box, no custom kernels, basic user experience? Linux sits at the bottom.

not necessarily. you need security for privacy but you don't need privacy to be secure.

your data is more secure on windows from malicious 3rd party actors than Linux, but you have lower privacy due to Microsoft's ridiculously invasive telemetry. The telemetry does not decrease your security though.