I actually prefer web apps because browsers make it easy to view control what’s being sent over my network. Requests are decrypted in the browser and can be viewed in plaintext with the browser console. They can be blocked using tools such as uBlock Origin.

Standalone client-server apps have full, unsandboxed control of your computer. It’s impossible to see the content of encrypted network requests, short of hacking into the app. See: Wacom’s drivers track the name of every application that you open:

https://robertheaton.com/2020/02/05/wacom-drawing-tablets-tr...