We connected them to the internet a full decade or more before this happened.
I would say it started with Chrome and Gmail
Chrome was the first major piece of software to incorporate automatic background installation of software updates without explicit user assent in 2008. Now, it's everywhere. I think this was an underappreciated event in the history of software freedom.
And Chrome and Gmail were genuinely better than what we had previously. Though they are good candidates for the trojan horse that got us to accept SaaS and constantly self-updating software that we don't pay for and don't own.
When we connected them to the internet 24/7. This shit didn't happen when you had to explicitly connect and disconnect.
My computer has been connected to the Internet since the 90s and it's also constantly been my computer. The trick is, run software that is free.
But it was the internet that made all the spying, profiling, and tracking possible. Before that, there was no motivation, so all software was developed and sold solely on its benefits to the user.
Today, even free software can have telemetry and ulterior motives.