I don't even need to swipe a ticket. All my local public transport has zero ticket checks, just random&rare controls.

In a long distance train I check in on my booked seat via the app. That's it. No additional ticket check.

German people have an understandable historical revulsion to the government tracking their every move.

Yes, that is why, instead of using a payment network, they choose to use an app, which still needs one to transact within the financial system and lets the government adjacent company run arbitrary code on one’s phone.

It's why they use paper tickets most of the time.