"When I search for ways to improve my online privacy, I find two extremes: people who think it's not worth it because Big Tech already have all our data, or complicated suggestions to flash my phone with a modded version of Android."

To be clear, like the OP, I am not referring to privacy from the government, i.e., so-called "state actors". I am referring to privacy from "tech" companies. Regardless of who develops the methods to trace crypto, or why they do so, history has shown it is "tech" companies, collectively, that have the greatest desire for internet surveillance data and pose the greatest risk to online privacy.