Its always better to try and get firsthand knowledge through the FAQ then rely on, possibly inaccurate, Lemmy users. I would also seek answers on their official forum over Lemmy as well.

Did you try reading through the FAQ?

Pixel 5 is end-of-life and shouldn’t be used anymore due to lack of security patches for firmware and drivers.

I understand if your friend is on a budget and simply can’t afford a non EOL phone but, they should really consider a 6th gen Pixel or better if they care at all about their data security.