Switching to Linux is in itself a great step towards privacy but it is not the final solution. Real privacy is a process that takes a lot of planning beforehand however one simple thing that I haven't seen mentioned is to encrypt your hard drive. This will for the most part prevent data being available to an attacker who has physical access to your computer while you are absent.
Because of this, I highly recommend using LUKS encryption as another step in the right direction. Most of the installers for the suggested distro's will have a tick box that asks if you want to enable encryption so you should choose this option.
A good guide that contains enough information to satiate the paranoid is available here: Paranoid Security Guide
Another good source of information pertaining to privacy conscious applications that should be used is available here: Prism Break Website
Most people, I suspect, will not need to lock down their systems with as much vigor as these guides describe however I believe it's good to be aware of your options and potential weak points in your system. We live in an age where our privacy is constantly violated and while you can never be completely secure, you can make it much more difficult for any attack vectors to get at your data. (Government, hackers...etc).
Highly recommended guidelines:
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Use a VPN (Preferably one you pay for, PIA, Mullvad)
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Encrypt all of your partitions including swap space
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Use an ad blocker and {Privacy Badger, Disconnectme}
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Disable any call home features your browser may have (Auto suggestions, pre-loading the web page. Any services that might send personal information to the developers)
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Use an encrypted email service {Tutanota, ProtonMail}
Anyone else who has any other general recommendations is encouraged to comment.
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[–] MartinAllien ago
Yeah, so you mean auto-suggestions, those type-ahead features etc.. got it. Never heard this term before. Thanks!
[–] ninjai ago
No, not like that.
Let's say I make you a product and you use it on your computer. Let's say I am curious to know how it performs on all my clients machines. I might program something into it where it reports back to me your computers hardware specs and how well my software is performing. This is effectively calling home.
[–] the_thin_man [S] ago
Sorry I should have clarified it in the OP