[deleted] Am I missing something, or having a Pixel phone - that functions as a phone - like a super weird, fringe thing to do that nobody does??
I suspect (though based on zero data) that 95%+ of GrapheneOS phones are used to function "like a phone": on almost always, in a pocket most of the time, ready most of the time to receive a "please pick up two gallons of milk on your way home" voice call or SMS, returning to the same home address most nights, using very little data while the primary user is asleep, etc.
That usage model makes it very easy for whichever carrier owns the relevant base stations, and whichever carrier issued your SIM, and thus at least one government, plus from time to time companies purchasing data from carriers, to associate your device with you. This is because of how cellular networks work. Ad blockers don't shield you from this, VPNs don't shield you from this, changing your IMSI every day doesn't. Using a phone like a regular phone (basically, carrying it around like an Airtag) exposes you in this particular way.
VPNs, ad blockers, restricting network access, etc., do have their uses! Those things can limit the data that Google, Meta, etc., collect about you. But they do not stop cellular networks from tracking, and probably identifying, you.
There are ways to use a GrapheneOS device plus cellular service that can significantly reduce cellular tracking. VPNs, ad blockers, changing your IMSI, and a non-KYC SIM may well be useful in those scenarios. But I don't think those scenarios overlap much with using a GrapheneOS device like a regular phone.
I suspect 95%+ of "us" are using our Pixel devices as regular phones and thus are highly tracked by carriers. That's a valid choice! But if we all got SilentLink eSIMs and used JMP.chat for voice calls, without making other changes fairly disruptive to the regular-phone lifestyle, we would all be as tracked as we are now - as a side effect of voluntarily carrying around a cellular tracking beacon.