I think you have nailed the core issue. We've normalized awful behavior on an awful platform and have justified an awful way of monetization.

I'm not a smartphone power user (RSS, email, light internet), so I was really hoping FirefoxOS or the Ubuntu phone would generate some traction.

Look into Purism Librem 5 with PureOS. They pushed release back to Q3 but it's a very interesting project.

That's what you get when you live in a world where most people aren't willing to shell out $1.99 for their apps. Developer time isn't free, and these apps are going to be monetized somehow.

On desktop, we have enormously complex software that's available for free. Why clang does not send all my passwords to shady servers and Blender does not lock my computer and demand ransom? Yet flashlight app which cost 1 man-hour to develop demands "$1.99 or all your private data".

Use F-Droid.

Clang and Blender are not the norm for desktop software.

Because Apple, Sony, Google, IBM, ARM, Microsoft,.... have other sources of revenue.

I bought Office Suite Pro for 14$ or something on a rooted Android phone. Having access to the private data folder of the app (/data/data/...), I could read the content of a sqlite database created by the app... in which there was reference of all the files from the userspace storage (/sdcard).

According to their privacy policy, they collect all the "data needed in order to improve their services and offering" and "can provide these data to third-party" for that purpose.

Paying for an app on android platform is no assurance the app actually respect your privacy.

Paid apps are turning to this as well.

By all means leave your house unlocked while you’re away, and then complain that human nature shouldn’t be what it is.

I assume that the cops don't respond to the regular break-ins where you live, and instead blame you for your locks being too weak.

Comparing two things doesn’t automatically make them the same.