That’s correct. To use Verizon one has to use a Verizon SIM card. Degoogled phones can use WiFi calling services for complete control over data or give up the tracking telemetry privacy by using a SIM card. That’s my understanding.
I’ve been using a De-Googled phone as my one and only phone for several years now and have never had any trouble with text, email, web, and maps. I predominately use Signal for text, and occasionally regular SMS with people who don’t have Signal, ProtonMail for email, Vanadium (the chromium browser that comes with GrapheneOS) for web, and Magic Earth for GPS.
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If you are correct, and I understand what you are saying. . . then what do you do if you are somewhere without wifi access? You go without phone service? That would kind of stink if your vehicle was broken down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
If you have a SIM card you can call using cell service
I wish there was a trusted company that could come to your house and help increase your digital privacy. I have zero ability to understand most of what is being said. My husband runs his own business from home and I cannot screw with our internet services. I have tons of old phones and laptops probably making me sick but don’t know how to properly dispose of them without risking someone being able to get on them an steal data or bank accounts. Half of them I don’t know the passwords and can no longer get into them to wipe them clean. Someone savvy could make a lot of money to help people like me!
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I’m in absolutely same position…!!
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Make a bucket of very salty water dunk those electronics into it then forget them for a few weeks.
Has anyone been using the AbovePhone for a few months now and care to comment on it. I need a new phone, just a phone, I don’t do banking, surf the internet, I just talk, text and listen to audio books. I’ve got an old Iphone 6, replaced the battery twice, the charge port twice, I don’t want a new Iphone 16, don’t need nor want all the added crap it can do. I considered the one Eric Prince is involved with, asked about it here a year ago but didn’t get much response.
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I’ve been happy with mine, and I also now have an AboveTablet that I’m also happy with. Based on what you need it for, you shouldn’t have any issues.
The real “limitation” of the above phone is that you start needing things like Google Service Framework to get all the “cool apps” to run.
I’m speaking here of things like WhatsApp and Google maps.
If you don’t need that then you might be able to run above phone the way the real hackers always intended (without gsf)
I use antenna pod for podcasts for example and this doesn’t require any Google crap.
If you need a Google account for your email or whatever else you’ll end up signed into Google on the phone which definitely weakens above phones value proposition.
But even that I think is still better You’re still sending less crap to Google.
Thanks to both of you for the advise.
In about six months, Google is going to lock Android into a cage.
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systemd on Linux is also supporting age verification now, so your name, birth date, and email address are stored in XDG.
Can I use not-give-it-to-you@example.com? I did that in the past with Windows. And 
to Meta for pushing this. Reddit User Uncovers Who Is Behind Meta’s $2B Lobbying for Invasive Age Verification Tech
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I’m sure there’s a paper trail somewhere of Meta’s lobby with the states who have enacted age verification laws (although I believe there’s other interests involved besides Meta).
This is a fairly comprehensive read on the matter from an implementation perspective.
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