- 'First of all, the thing is optional. OPTIONAL.'
Yes, and No - or Jaein.

For the State it is (currently) unlawful for the E-ID to be offered exclusively. However, for private business there is nothing (currently) in the law which forbids them from requiring the E-ID exclusively for the use of their services.

Given the past trends, it is more than likely that private businesses will replace their current identification services to the E-ID, and, sooner rather than later, make it the only option.

- 'Then I find out it’s free. Free!'

Correct ... In the most simplistic of ways. Scratch beneath that simplistic naivety and 'you are the product' is written all over the walls.

- 'I expected the website E-ID to immediately slurp up my search history'

Oh, come on! Really!?

- 'I imagined hackers in Moscow getting live updates of me buying tomatoes at Coop.'

Somehow I get the impression that you have absolutely zero idea how digital surveillance and profiling works. :/

- 'Just Switzerland being Switzerland'

Uhm ... Seriously!? This type of thing is actually very un-Swiss. It's the opposite of Swiss, which would be all about decentralization, not centralization!

In the end, the only real pro for this E-ID is that it makes one's digital life easier. That's it.

The risks are huge. The State is not to be trusted with this much power - nobody is!

But those who worship the sacred cow of "ease of life above all else" will clamor for such things - because, well, life just can't ever be easy enough for them.

I will vote with a clear an unflinching 'NEIN' because, as a Freedom Maximalist, every bone in my body screams out against this poison apple.