Is Apple Tracking Every App You Use‪?‬ Impact Assessment

Apple recently launched macOS Big Sur and a security researcher's post vent viral highlighting a steady stream of communications that "phone home" detailing what apps you're using on your system. What's going on here?

Is privacy promoting Apple actually spying on every app running on every macOS system around the world? Or is something much less sinister going on...something that might even help us?