It's safe to say that any connected device is, by default, gathering information, even my air conditioning!

This is no longer 'unbelievable', it is the norm and really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. You can turn off as many settings as you like, but it makes little difference in my experience.

We can either disconnect ourselves entirely from the connected world, or accept that there's a reason why the internet is essentially free to access, social media is free, and products such as lower quality smart TV's are so cheap. That is the price we pay and generally we seem prepared to do so.