Do you have multiple accounts for an app, but your Android phone will only let you use one? No worries, there's a feature on some Android phones that lets you run multiple copies of an app. This way, you can create a second copy of your favorite app, add your secondary account to it, and use that as if it's the original app you have on your phone.

You don't even need a third-party app to make clones of your installed apps. Here's how you can duplicate your Android apps.

Run Multiple Copies of an App on Android

To make it clear, the feature to make multiple copies of an app is only available on certain Android devices. You should be able to find this feature on Samsung, Xiaomi, and OnePlus phones.

If your phone doesn't have this feature, you can still run multiple instances of your Android apps using a third-party app.

Each manufacturer has its own name for the feature—it's called Dual Messenger on Samsung, for instance, while on OnePlus it used to be called Parallel Apps but is now App Cloner. Whatever the name, it works pretty much the same no matter what phone you're using.

Here's how to get started. We've used a OnePlus phone running Android 13 for this demo:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and navigate to Apps > App Cloner.
  3. You'll see a list of apps that you can make copies of—not every app is supported.
  4. Find the app you want to clone and tap on Create app clone.
  5. Your phone will create and add a copy of your selected app to your app drawer as well as your home screen.

Your newly created app won't carry over any of your existing settings. This gives you a chance to customize this app in a completely different way than the original.

You're now ready to use your secondary account with the cloned app.

Where Does Android Save the Data for Cloned Apps?

Your Android phone doesn't save the data for your cloned apps in the same directory as the original apps. However, you should be able to access any images, videos, and documents using the default gallery app.

Unlike previous versions of OxygenOS that had a dedicated folder to store Parallel Apps data, it's no longer possible to access this data using the pre-built file manager app.

You can try using a third-party Android file manager to get hold of the /emulated/999 folder, although being able to access it might depend on your phone and Android version.

What Are the Limitations of Using Dual Apps on Android?

A major limitation of cloning apps is that you can't clone all your Android apps. There are some apps, like Google Chrome, that you can't yet make duplicates for.

Basically, you can only make copies of the apps that you see on the Parallel Apps or Clone Apps menu. If an app isn't listed there, you can't make a copy of it.

Another drawback as we've mentioned before is the finicky nature of how newer Android versions are able to handle and give the user access to storage. While you might be able to use cloned apps like WhatsApp and Instagram without any issues, backing up their data might end up being quite difficult.

Disable Multiple Copies of an App on Android

To remove a cloned app on your OnePlus phone:

  1. Head into Settings > Apps > Clone Apps.
  2. Find the app you want to delete the duplicate for and tap on Remove app clone.
  3. Alternatively, you can simply uninstall the cloned app as you would any other app on your phone. Rest assured, this won't affect the original app.

Your phone will remove the app duplicate, as well as all its data. This won't have any impact on the original copy of the app. You can continue to use it like you've been doing.

Using Dual Accounts in Duplicated Android Apps

Running multiple instances of an app lets you use multiple accounts for those apps on your phone. With this feature now built into your system, you don't need to go hunting for app-cloning tools. You can do that by simply toggling a switch on your Android device, as shown above.

There are other benefits to cloning apps, including increasing your security. Besides being able to create clones of your favorite apps, you can hide them from plain sight to further increase your privacy.