Lemongrab

Flatpak shouldn't require a reboot after install. I never have needed on any distro. It takes me about the same time as regular package manager. Odd to say the least.

Application sandboxing is just SO important. If the app isnt available as Flatpak, you could install it normally and use Bubblejail to restrict it.

What specifically don't you like about it?

Try to still all your desktop apps through Flatpak. Flatpak applications are sandboxes (meaning they are regulated by the system using permission toggles and variables). It is better for security/privacy, and makes transferring app data to a new OS install easy (app data is stored in ~/.var/app/ )

Bluefin (MacOS look) or Aurora (Windows look) are great starter Linux distros. It won't give you the typical Linux experience (mostly that you won't really need to do much terminal stuff).

If you won't a more typical Linux experience, I recommend Fedora Workstation (the KDE spin if you want that Windows look).

Webcord is another good client. It is more so designed for security and isolation, but supports theming and plugins. Vencord (more specifically Vesktop) is probably a more interesting client.

Sadly, KDE Plasma has not yet secured the windowing protocols, so applications can freely record your screen. Only GNOME stops this ATM. Not a deal breaker, and KDE plans on improving this. Still a security risk.

I do agree that generally when we refer to the fediverse, we mean ActivityPub federation. I also just wanted to point out that ActivityPub is not synonymous with fediverse.

It is federated, just with other Matrix protocol servers. Just like how email is federated.

Element is default E2EE for 1-to-1 direct messaging. Rooms require setting up encryption.

WebCord supports it.

Unique to you, shared between your different browsers.

Except for shared unique similarities. Fingerprinting designers know "not all data is good data" and will then filter out bad data and use hard to change charateristics, like hardware or software similarities, which can enable cross-browser fingerprinting.