It's too bad the author didn't spend any time on the information that smartphone apps are allowed to collect by default, with no in-app settings to restrict them at all.

I'm with him in sentiment, of course: Dark patterns are rotten wherever they're used, including data protection settings. But a discussion of privacy focused on window curtains seems almost pointless when the doors are jammed wide open.

“The problem isn't data protection; the problem is data collection.”

Oh well. I guess every little bit of attention on the issue might help it get fixed some day.

It’s by design