Thank you for that information. This whole thing is fascinating to me.
Do you still have a conventional phone number? I have family that are too old/tech incompetent to use something like Signal but who must be able to get a hold of me if they need to.
What happens if you go over your data cap?
Why is it so cheap? Do they sell your personal data or something?
I have two numbers, both VoIP. Anyone can call or text me, they don't need to do anything other than dial the number. I even get texts from my bank.
The data cap auto renews and doesn't expire. For me, 1gb lasts 2 or 3 months. I don't recall what it costs but it's dirt cheap.
VoIP is cheap because it uses the internet instead of the cell network. There is almost no costs to operate the device.
As for privacy, VoIP is a little more private than cell service. I had to disclose my ID and cc but that happens with most cell service. I'm not being triangulated by cell towers. My texts are being set to my email and deleted off the VoIP servers.
Jmpchat is a VoIP service with a lot more privacy but it's currently out of my price range.