Dear Jim. Re: Web Browsers

Can't help with I-phones but can share other experiences.

Using an obscure browser does help. I chose bare bones "Web" from the selections offered under Ubuntu 18.x. I only use it as a last resort as it is far too bare bones for general use.

I switch IP address locations via VirtualShield VPN. Miami worked great for a while but is now gone. Canada often works when US internet is under attack.

Typically I use a slow but all-you-can-eat DSL internet connection - it's cheap and no cable or fiber here. For backup and traveling I have a fast, expensive, pay by the gigabyte hotspot (cell modem). If a video won't start on Firefox with DSL I can usually get it started on the expensive hotspot then switch on the fly to the cheap DSL. I was very surprised that this works and the VPN doesn't care at all.

J