Google's plan to restrict sideloading on Android has a potential escape hatch for users
(www.androidauthority.com)
Then why aren't they already doing that by blocking DuckDuckGo?
The DuckDuckGo app blocks all apps from sending to Google (and other advertisers) tracking/ad data on a system level. And it's freely available on the Play Store (has been for years.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duckduckgo.mobile.android
If they wanted to prevent apps from blocking their ad abilities, this app would never have been allowed on the Play Store.