It would've been one thing if they were upfront about this, but hiding it means they can't be trusted. Time to look for a new search engine. Any one know any other tracker-resistant search engines?
I looked into this because I use DuckDuckGo and I think it's really important to keep organizations accountable especially when they claim to be different TM than shitty ones. So it looks like this is true (as of now) for the mobile browser application specifically, not the search engine in general.
which means that using the search engine on another browser like Firefox should be fine, and also now is a great time to let the company know exactly why you are uninstalling their *application* on your device to hopefully either force a backpedal or heavily discourage further shit like this down the line.
it's a slimy move to be sure. I just think it's important to be specific and precise. Here's another article on the subject:
 https://www.searchenginejournal.com/duckduckgo-microsoft-trackers/452006/
DuckDuckGo's Search Deal Stops Browser From Blocking Microsoft Trackers DuckDuckGo's mobile web browser allows Microsoft data trackers, despite promising privacy protections. Search Engine Journal