I hope this will be useful for those who still store bitcoins on the exchange, you should think about security and hold your coins on hardware wallets.
I totally agree with the OP as you described your Bitcoin Journey and said that you are now using a hardware wallet. I have also concern about my privacy that's why I always use 2FA authentication in my wallet. If a new user want to buy Hardware wallets then I will say invest in Bitcoin and use online wallets if you have a little amount of Bitcoin. If you have a good amount of Bitcoin then it's worthy to buy Hardware Wallets.