I think, especially given events that’ve transpired since, Apple was fairly justified in not giving third party developers unfettered access to web pages and network requests running through the browser.

I am very glad that I can install an add blocker on my phone and I don’t have to trust that it’s not going to mine and sell my data.

I haven’t been bamboozled, I’ve just made a different decision with a different set of trade offs than you.