Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I'm pretty sure "we take your privacy seriously" has always been marketing and nothing more. they could say that because they aren't Google who really doesn't care about privacy. So in comparison, it was "correct." Regardless, they are a company and companies can change their ideals at any point, so one should never take marketing strategies seriously (not that you did, just a general warning).
It is both marketing and they have taken steps to protect privacy. In some cases they have made apps less functional or less simply because of privacy concerns. Of course that is not their only concern and they do have an obligation to make money, but it’s not a binary choice and saying that it is nothing more than marketing is reductionist cynicism.
Maybe "was reductionist cynicism".
Their present day approach makes it seems very plausible that it's just marketing and weasel words, nothing more. :(
Apple is/was a happy member of PRISM, though they don't tell that in commercials.