The sad truth is probably that vast majority of people like the convenience of an app and don't care about privacy or data collection and the products/market is

The sad truth is probably that vast majority of people like the convenience of an app and don't care about privacy or data collection and the products/market is heading there. I don't really believe in this theory. Certainly the average HN commenter trends more privacy-aware than the average person in our societies but I know many "normal" people who don't like the intrusion but accept it because they don't see any viable alternative apart from giving up a normal life. The correct solution when competition in commercial markets doesn't solve a problem like this because it's just too profitable for everyone to carry on the abuse is for governments to regulate in the public interest. Of course that relies on elected representatives to do their jobs and not just pander to whichever industry gives its lobbyists the most funding so the success of the strategy is likely to vary wildly depending on which country you live in.