> But there has to be an alternative so that advertising can continue to hold up the internet and keep it freely accessible

This dichotomy is false. You can still advertise to users without having any tracking data about them other than the service or site they are using. Just as advertising has done in most other major industries, be it print media, television, or physical advertisements such as billboards.

It's not as crazy insanely lucrative !== it's not profitable enough to work.