I might be mistaken, but wasn't Windows well ahead of Apple on this one?

First it sneaked Windows 8 and 10 updates onto people's computers, then used every dark pattern imaginable to get them to consent to tracking, then slowly included ads in their operating system.

For the last 2-3 years, I thought "at least Apple isn't doing that", but that is changing.

Unless I'm mistaken Windows 10 still allows you to disable everything and doesn't play games with what you can and cannot block at software/host firewall level.

It does allow disabling settings, indeed, but it's a trove of dark patterns, including updates resetting your privacy settings.