I also run a lot of proprietary stuff like Discord or Instagram due to peer pressure but I let it slide and put my hopes on Android sandboxing the apps and GrapheneOS tweaks. In my opinion, making sure that proprietary app can’t reliably access your data and never giving it anything sensitive yourself is a decent risk model.
The only proprietary software I use and somewhat trust is Obdisian. Honestly, it’s just excellent and I can’t see myself moving away from it anytime soon.
Hi, which countries did you live in? I’ve also lived in several countries throughout my life and only experienced what you’re describing in the US (at least in the city I live in, maybe it’s a bias)