I've used it for a year without Google play services.
The basic OS utilites (camera, SMS, file manager, "phone" app, etc) are part of the Lineage base and don't need play services. You can also install f-droid which has a good variety of open source apps, including mail clients.
I even installed Whatsapp (downloaded the apk from whatsapp's website), which doesn't require play services.
Now, I don't think LineageOS is for the "average person", its for people who care about their privacy and like having control of their device, but you don't need to be some sort of long-bearded hacker to be able to use it.
This just switches being tracked by Google to being tracked by Facebook. They now have names, times, numbers, etc of people you talk to/interact with, as well as your rough location via IP, access point, or cell tower (which are shared with people who have location services enabled).
That's fine. The point the parent is making is that you can use whatsapp without google play services if you want to. This is not a given for a lot of other apps.
The basic OS utilites (camera, SMS, file manager, "phone" app, etc) are part of the Lineage base and don't need play services. You can also install f-droid which has a good variety of open source apps, including mail clients.
I even installed Whatsapp (downloaded the apk from whatsapp's website), which doesn't require play services.
Now, I don't think LineageOS is for the "average person", its for people who care about their privacy and like having control of their device, but you don't need to be some sort of long-bearded hacker to be able to use it.