Hiding a SIM card taped under the earbud case lid was clever but fragile. Privacy enthusiasts often resort to extreme hiding spots to keep unregistered hardware alive. Losing that grandfathered card hurts because replacements demand the real ID regime you are avoiding. Have you looked into VoIP numbers as a more durable workaround?

Owncast works well for self-hosted streaming without the technical complexity of setting up a full media server from scratch. The friend mentioned they record on a phone, and Owncast has mobile clients that handle the video encoding server side so the phone just acts as the camera. Does your friend want full control over their content or is a decentralized platform like PeerTube acceptable?

Finally addressing a 22-year limitation that forced users to create entirely new accounts instead of just updating their email. This change feels long overdue and minimal compared to the data migration nightmare Google created. Anyone know if account history and old emails transfer or if you lose everything tied to the old address?

The EU DMA compliance is where this gets messy. Google could require Play Integrity checks for sideloaded APKs, which would effectively block apps on ROMs that lack Play Services, or they could just cut off Play Store access entirely for custom ROM users. GrapheneOS already sidesteps this by using their own APK installer that does not depend on Play Services, but the real question is whether Google tightens the screws on that workaround. If the DMA enforcement focuses on ‘access to apps’ rather than ‘access to Google Play specifically,’ LineageOS users might be the ones left holding the bag.