> I've always seen Apple TV as the least-bad option compared to Roku

If this was your original statement, I think we all would be on your side - I even use an Apple TV 4k personally and love it. It definitely is the best in the market for what it does.

> it's the one box I can (reasonably) trust to not be mining my viewing habits for data.

Instead, you framed it as the only privacy-friendly option and that is logically and factually incorrect.

I think you read a bunch into my stuff and then responded to the arguments you thought I was making, then accused me of craftily dodging things, then implied I was a bot.