@morgana_catbus @AdaraAstin I did some reading in the article, and I suspect that if you want Google never to know your phone number, you need to de-Google the phone or install an alternative OS prior to ever putting the SIM in it or provisioning an E-SIM.

It probably works to not make a Google account or link the phone to one at setup, but we don't know if Google Play Services still silently sends the number to Google in the absence of an account.

If this is ever run even once and you have a contract phone, this will link everything you do on it at a level good enough to use against you IN COURT.

I have three layers of defense against this myself:
1: No Google account ever
2: No Google Play Services
3: No contract phone, no credit cards for phone, SIM, or airtime and no name or address ever given to the carrier.