Our County Library offers preloaded Kindles that you can check out for a month. Each one has a different genre on it.
Libraries are also where people who can't afford air conditioning like to hang out, where classes for everything from yoga to crochet are offered, kids can hear stories and participate in craft groups, and where I found out from a visiting ACA rep that I could save $600 a month on my health insurance.
Yep, some of our libraries have these, in the Makers Space room. People also bring other crafts and spread out there.
Many libraries in the US have a Friends of the Library volunteer group, or something similar. I volunteer at two of our local branches.
Just a FYI that you might have to be fingerprinted or do a background check. That was required for our county, as we are sometimes in close proximity to children.
Just to clarify: you don't need a phone number for proton, and you can use a burner email as your backup. I agree with you though, I'd prefer not to give either, but backup emails are standard, so there is someplace to send a recovery code.
*edited to correct typo.
If for some reason that doesn't work, Waterfox is the completely AI-free version of Firefox, with tighter security settings by default. You can also use most of the same add-ons, and it's available for mobile devices.