I realize there are those here who are less than honest, so I thought I'd present EVERY screenshot of setting up an iPad after a factory reset.
Here they are:
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https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UkFTfR0p5MyRakngCmF0NstYjF8OOb5j?usp=share_link>
Let's walk through them, together.
First, you get the "Hello" screen.
1-Hello.jpeg
After pressing the home button, you see the language selection screen:
2-Language.jpeg
After selecting your language, you are asked for your region:
3-Region.jpeg
I selected Canada and came to the screen where you can either do a "Quick Start" using an iOS device running iOS 11 or later, or you can do a "Set Up Manually"
4-Quick Start.jpeg
I chose to "Set Up Manually" and we came to the "Choose a Wi-Fi" screen.
5-Wi-Fi.jpeg
Not living in a slum and not afraid of my own shadow, I chose my home network, and came to the "Data and Privacy" screen:
6-Data & Privacy.jpeg
Having already read Apple's privacy documentation previously (and having access to that documentation online, because I wasn't too afraid to connect to WiFi in the previous step), I clicked Continue, and came to the passcode setup screen:
7-Passcode.jpeg
I set up a passcode--twice as is the usual way, and came to the App & Data screen where you're asked if you'd like to restore from some source or set up a new device without transferring:
8-Apps & Data.jpeg
I chose, "Don't Transfer Apps & Data", and now we come to the Apple ID screen:
9-Apple ID.jpeg
I chose, "Forgot password or don't have an Apple ID?", and came to the second Apple ID screen where the option, "Set Up Later in Settings" exists:
10-Forgot Apple ID.jpeg
I chose, "Set Up Later in Settings", and was asked to confirm my choice:
11-Confirm no Apple ID.jpeg
I confirmed, "Don't Use", and we get:
12-Terms & Conditions.jpeg
Accepting the T&C, we get options for setting up Siri and Location, but remember: we're anonymous, and you can choose NOT to have this information transferred.
13-Express Setttings.jpeg
So after selecting, "Continue", we get whether or not to have software updates done automatically or not:
14-Software updates.jpeg
For the purposes of this demonstration, I chose "Continue" rather than "Install Updates Manually", and we get Screen Time options:
15-Screen Time.jpeg
"Continue" and we get options about sending analytic data to Apple and app developers:
16-iPad Analytics.jpeg
17-App Analytics.jpeg
Continue to both, and we get a three informational screens about features of iOS/iPadOS;
18-Dock quick access.jpeg
19-Recent app switch.jpeg
20-Quickly Access Controls.jpeg
And finally, we get to the home screen where we can use the iPad, without ever having had to sign into Apple's servers.
21-Home screen.jpeg
Now, to be sure, there is a fairly limited set of apps that come on the iPad; 23 apps to be exact, and some of them DO work via an AppleID, but lots don't require one. You may be bothered about finishing setup by adding an AppleID from time to time, but you can simply ignore those nags.
And of course, you could add a completely minimal AppleID with no personal information at all:
22-AppleID setup.jpeg
No real name, no real DoB... ...no credit card.