That’s not the point. Even techie types commenting on here (who should know better about trusting a free Fintech product) didn’t think twice about it. Most commenting on here are surprised to learn Robinhood even collects this info when you do use Plaid.

Actually, it is the point. You don't have to connect via plaid, so if you are concerned about whatever plaid collects, you can solve this concern and avoid paying 4.95 a trade and be strictly better off

No, it's not. Robinhood hides non-Plaid linking options behind a "don't see your bank?" button at the very bottom of a long list of banks that few people are even aware is an option. The point is that even smart people on here seem to have no clue that Robinhood is collecting this information when they link a bank account through Plaid because the permissions you grant are that opaque.

The point is to compare RH with other brokerages. Right? If everyone is using Plaid, then you are still better off not paying 4.95. Or, are you claiming nobody else is doing it but them ?

Nonetheless, the option exists. Meaning the data on the statement is really of no use to RH & isn't part of their business model.

There's also an option on FB not to share your wall posts with anyone. Yet you'd not infer from that that people sharing crap about their lifes on the wall is not integral to the FB's business model.

Something's wrong with your logic.

FB serves ads. Robinhood doesn't. So, it's not clear how in the world people's history would be integral to their business model. I suppose we could imagine them using it down the road to offer credit or something. But as of right now, it is a mere insinuation without a shred of evidence.

Regular online brokerages don't use Plaid to enable funding if that's what you're asking. Funding via traditional ACH methods or wires does not grant a sender or receiver access to all your transaction history.

Robinhood supports ACH