Balatan is one of if not the biggest contributor in Android modding scene and mobilism for a long time (Uploaders that have purple names in mobilism are major android releasers and generally very trustworthy). if you still have doubts try checking the APK in virustotal

Digging thru network requests and the app itself (apktool) helps. I usually just block network with afwall unless it's necessary since im lazy tho.

Any modded app provided for free by some rabdom uploader is suspicious. You cannot blindly trust any platform. If you care about your privacy and your device's security you should analyze the app's content in depth or buy the app (or crack it yourself, but it usually means you need to buy the app first).