You do need a phone number, and it is indeed american, even though it’s a non profit and they never did anything sketchy as far as i know.
If you want something private, without phone number, EU based and easy to install and use, then Olvid is for you. Remains the problem to bring people over, but you can keep using whatsapp in the same time until everybody you care about migrates.
Signal is a pretty good alternative. It took me a year or so to convince all the people i want to talk with, to make the move. But totally worth it.
Except steam doesn’t charge to play online, let you install mods, and doesn’t sell games from 2017 for 70€. Also, you can use this as a normal PC you're not locked in the seller's ecosystem, you can buy games from Epic, Gog, etc... or use it to make spreadsheats or code if you feel like it.
(edit cuz typo)
Yes, but each half regrows as a full bill.
You do not need mods. Elden Ring can be made quite easier than other From Software games out of the box. It's an open world, if you're blocked at some point, you can go somewhere else to level up and get better. Also, you can summon spirits to help you with bosses and in some areas. And like with previous games, you can ask other humans to help you in difficult moments. I'd recommend to check some guides for beginner friendly builds. Otherwise, you're good to go. The difficulty in those games is real, but it has been exagerated a lot.
It happened when i was using it on Lineage, but no problem on android. Did you check the permissions?