Yes because wanting to collect metrics on which devices your users are using to better aid in the design and development of your application is similar to giving your DOB and VRN to Walmart.
I'm not disagreeing with your point, but did want to add in that what a developer's intentions are don't mean a great deal, because there's a serious trust problem.
It's very difficult to tell what data is really being reported by an application. The majority of the time, all we have to go by is what the developer says is being collected.
But the developer claims cannot be considered trustworthy by default. Many developers have simply lied in the past about what they collect. And even if the developer is truthful, they can only speak for what the software is doing at the moment. There's no guarantee that the developer won't change their mind in the future, or the product won't be sold to another company that isn't so considerate of their users.
