FWIW, we have a sand filter that originally contained glass media, upon recommendation from our pool seller/installer. He said that's what he used, and he really liked it. He also recommended Baquacil. That's a whole 'nuther story, though!
Being the first permanent pool for us, all things went fine... for a couple years. Then the Baqua-Blues set in. We did the conversion to TFP upon opening the following spring. The final step of the process was a media replacement for the filter. As we got to that point, I was suddenly, "Holy Crud! That thing's full of glass shards!"
I started out with a metal scoop, safety goggles, and heavy-duty elbow-high rubber gloves. And, of course, my wife with camera and
unfunny comments...
Upon opening the filter, the glass was much finer that what I had envisioned. My "HazMat" gear was way too cumbersome to use inside that small hole in the top of the filter. I took off the gloves and very, very carefully, gently rolled some of the just-removed glass in my fingers. NO CUTS! Felt just like sand! Voila! After that, it only took about 15 minutes of bare hand work with the scoop to get it all out. (It definitely helped that my "videographer" departed when no blood flowed, BTW.)
We are now on year four of sand, with perfect water and no problems. If I recall, the glass back in 2016 was around $45 to fill the filter. The sand a few years later was like $25. So, there's that. I can't personally tell any difference in filtering efficiency between the two. I also can't tell you that one will slice & dice up your swimmers any faster than the others, should they decide to occupy the same space.
Best of luck to you as you make your own personal choice on a filter and/or media. The good thing is nobody on here wants to make a nickel off you, no matter what you go with. You've gotten some great insights from most of the posts above, for free!
Enjoy the day, and Support TFP!