Personally I think phone cameras have come a long way and one should make the most of them including using the RAW option if available it gives you so much you can do with editing the photos

that said I seldom use my phone for photos and when I do I use auto and HDR modes , but then again mostly I am out and about with my camera

As for the auto option on editing programmes I use it often myself, but just as a starting point to see what the program, Lightroom in my case things and then tweak it to my liking sometimes staying close to the auto settings but more often tweaking it a lot to my liking

now not to flood you with info so just a little bit more

the main ones I think you should play with as you get started are the basics I would say
Cropping if need be, Exposure contrast and depending onthe shots tweaking shadows highlights and mid tones