I've been using two separate accounts, also always via VPN. My account was immediately blocked until I provided a phone number (doable but a chore to have a pri

I've been using two separate accounts, also always via VPN. My account was immediately blocked until I provided a phone number (doable but a chore to have a private number). Same with the other account. An attempt to remove an "optional" and totally not mandatory phone number results in immediate account block "for my own security" and a request for the number. You might be an outlier.