Is there evidence that they are collecting data from the app?

I love Nova launcher but will switch to an alternative if I have to.

Dang this is my favorite. I might look into a good alternative later on. I'm not on my phone that much anymore.

Is the Nova 7 apk that everyone references actually "safe" or is that just regurgitated rumor without source?

sigh

Lanwchair is a great replacement but I am facing many problems with its widgets and don't forget the default launcher is always the best option if you consider less surface attack

Saved for the launcher recommendations, although all of my experiences with them have been bad because of the broken animations since A12 I think... Some look slightly better, like kvaesitso.

So what's the recommended replacement?

I will not go back to the stock launcher because they're dog water.

I switched to T-UI Launcher like 7 years ago and never looked back. The F-Droid version is the best version, the one on Google Play lacks SMS and some other features.

Command line launcher is unironically by far the best and most efficient thing I've ever used. I tried T-E-L but I found it was a real battery hog. I may give it another go though. Maybe it was just a problem with the phone I was using at the time.