Most of you don’t use dual apps, but it has some fans

Dual apps functionality has been around on smartphones for several years now, allowing users to create another instance of an installed app. It also has a variety of names depending on the manufacturer, such as parallel apps, dual messenger, and app twin.

The feature is available on many phones, but is it something you actually use? We posed this question last week and here’s how you answered it.

Do you use dual apps on your phone?

Results

The poll was posted on Friday, April 1, and it turns out that 67% of the 2,653 voters said they don’t use dual apps functionality. Some reader comments also support this position, with readers saying their phone either doesn’t have the feature, the implementation was buggy, or they simply never had a use for it.

That still leaves a third of votes cast for the “yes” camp, showing that the dual apps feature has a decent chunk of fans regardless. Readers in the comments note that the feature reduced the need for a second phone, allows you to efficiently separate work and personal life, and is handy for WhatsApp.

Either way, the dual apps feature isn’t quite as necessary as it used to be now that some apps like Telegram, Instagram, and others support multiple accounts. But we’re still glad to see the capability present on various phones today.

Comments

• Filament: This is extremely handy in many situations. With the wonders of technology, people have a solution to this particular kind of scenario which negates the need for a second phone.
• mattc: I run duplicates of WhatsApp. For different numbers from years of traveling and living in other places. I would love to be able to duplicate anything, it’s a shame it’s limited to just a few apps.
• Brian Philsby: Hell yes. I use dual apps on my OnePlus device for Facebook, Whats App, Instagram, Telegram, Discord, and Offer Up. My phone has 12gb of ram so there’s no issues with skowdowns. Whenever I use another device (or custom ROM) without the functionality, I use app cloner. This is the main reason why I could never switch to an iPhone. The productivity is unmatched
• Seela: Used once or twice, then never again. Same goes to dual space or second space or whatever it’s called on other brands. I could see it being useful, just not my cup of tea though.
• Anthorama: I believe my Pixel 5 doesn’t support that
• Lcd1701: Dual apps… For the people who try to cheat on their partners? What else would social media duplicating be for other than getting both accounts notifications in real time without using a work mode built into Android? Perhaps I’m reading into that too much, but still.
• Andrean R: For now, no. But I used it when I was still working a few years ago. It’s a really useful feature to keep personal and work chat separate. Sure, I can just buy another phone, but in some parts of the world, phones can get expensive. Besides, it’s a hassle to manage two phones when one can do the job well.
• Rahul Singh: No, because using dual apps in Xiaomi causes issues in Android Auto
• dgw: The “No” option really should be two separate choices: “No, I don’t use it” and “No, my phone doesn’t have that feature”.