Android is what you configure it to be. Sure, there are some switches to flip if you want to be google-free. But you can replace pretty much every privacy-impacting function on the phone.
Android is also what you pay for. If you buy a $99 phone from China, don't be surprised if there is Chinese government spy code in the firmware.
For the record, companies like Apple and Xiaomi provide methods to verify the integrity of your phones software if you bought it in China. But then we are not talking about $99 phones anymore.
