I go into researching this after your article and the tracking is more widely available than I though. I always keep the GPS tracking off and I rarely even let a family member mess with my phone. The worst part is that when you are tracked through cell towers, you are really powerless to do anything about it. But with regulations and taxes, these companies need to make some money and they go for the low hanging fruit while most of their customers don't mind. Things are even worse for kids because they are not matured enough to navigate safely through the potential problems: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/12/technology/kids-apps-data-privacy-google-twitter.html

One thing I do practice is clicking on ads I don't like on websites/YouTube channels I do like. If more people did this, we'd actually be leaving a little dent in these people's wallets.