Assorted questions from likely user :P

throwaway_7598

what i'm looking for is increased privacy and anonymity (which also means security i suppose). I am part of more than one vulnerable group and wish to minimise the amount of data on me, as it seems possible it will be used against me by private individuals, corpos or a government. Some things I do online could be cracked down on by law enforcement if things get worse. It is possible that I will be engaged in material aid organizations, but I am not a widely known known individual nor am I likely to personally get widespread attention.

I need mobile internet, but i could technically achieve this with anonymous prepaid cards and use my old phone to make calls on the number that everyone calls me on. I use a decent bit of social media.

I am quite sure of my decision to start using GOS. A few questions, however:

Is anything beyond using GOS, a decent VPN and minimising google/meta/etc. app usage needed in my case? I get that even with the play store, privacy is greatly improved, but I can't quite understand how big of a hit it takes.
Is it important to not tie my device to my identity? Is it even realistic?
-- Is buying the device from amazon with a debit card and personal account bad?
-- Does using for example google accounts that have my real name immediately tie my identity to the device and other accounts i have on it? Or can they not tell (both in sandboxed apps and browser)?
Is using browser instead of apps important?
Is there any point in having two phones, one with my personal SIM and the other with a prepaid and GOS?
Is there anything i am likely to have missed? Any common mistakes people make initially?
What do yall think about protons' services? Seems like a decent alternative to many of googles' to me.

I am not very experienced at this typa stuff (most complicated thing was building a pc and all involved), but I know how to search for solutions and follow guides. Please tell me if you need me to add details or specify something. Much of this has been asked i know, but i couldn't find it so here i am. sorry for yapping

thank you all !! ^_^ have nice holidays

GrouchyGrape

throwaway_7598 welcome to the forums! Every question here has been asked, answered, debated in great detail in other threads. Use the search function or your favorite search engine and include site:discuss.grapheneos.org at the end of your search query.

Take your time, don't overwhelm yourself, and feel free to ask specific clarifying questions. Most of us are happy to help those that show they were willing to put in some initial research effort.

Vincent96

Agent 643, abort. You are compromised. Return to sector B.

NetRunner88

Buy the phone secondhand with cash
Do not use same device for your "hidden" identity and official stuff
Strong password for your graphene
Airplane + VPN + wifi for basic mitigation
And other things discussed here on the forum can help

throwaway_7598

GrouchyGrape okay I'll try some more . forums with so many viewpoints aren't suited for my brain but i can find the right ones with a bit effort. thank you