It's just that the price tag is so well hidden that ordinary users really believe this.

And if they die believing that, what price did they really pay? I don't think the difference mostly comes down to a lack of knowledge or understanding, but more a difference of care or assigned value. There are a lot of smart people on HN, but with that often comes exaggerated anxieties and paranoias. If most people don't give a crap about giving their data to Google or allowing the big bad advertisements to penetrate their feeble minds or whatever, vociferously beating that drum just amounts to old-man-yelling-at-cloud-esque FUD.

Things 'barely even registering to most people' is not as strong a position as you may think it is.

I understand that logically that is neither here nor there, it was more just an expression of exasperation. It's kind of like how I'm equally blown away by how much energy some people put into anti-abortion laws. It's like, ok, everyone can have their opinions, and there's plenty of reasonable discussion to be had, but to put so much negative energy into something that's like, is this really the battle that's worth this much outrage right now? There are literally genocides and violent deportations going on around us. Google are not the bad guys.

Also, I don't use any kind of ad blocker. There are definitely lots of ad-infested unusable experiences out there but Google products are generally among the classiest and most unobtrusive.