cloning apps on android is a very easy task that can be done by following these simple steps:

  1. First, you will need to install the Android SDK. This can be found at the Google Play Store.
  2. Once the SDK is installed, you will need to create a new project and name it CloneApp.
  3. Next, you will need to create an Android Manifest file and add the following content: public class CloneApp extends App { private static final int METHOD_CLONE = 0x8000; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.app); } @Override protected void onDestroy() { super.onDestroy(); } } 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223

You probably use a lot of apps, but sometimes one instance of an app isn’t enough. If you have an Android phone, you can “clone”—or duplicate—apps. There are a few reasons why you might want to do this.

Why “Clone” an App?

The most common reason for cloning or duplicating Android apps is using multiple accounts. These days, more apps support signing in with multiple accounts, but there are still plenty of holdouts. Snapchat and WhatsApp are two popular examples.

When you clone an app, you’re creating an identical copy that can be used independently. That means you can sign in with one account on one version and a different account on another. Even if the app does support multiple accounts, you may find it easier to switch between them this way.

You could also clone an app to create a separate version for a child or anyone else that uses your Android device. The cloning app we’ll be using also allows you to change the name of the app if that’s something you’re interested in doing.

RELATED: How to Add Multiple Google Accounts on Android

How to Duplicate Android Apps

We’ll be using an Android app called “App Cloner” to accomplish this. The app is not available in the Google Play Store, but it can be easily downloaded from the developer’s website and sideloaded on your device.

RELATED: How to Sideload Apps on Android

Once installed, open the App Cloner and select the app you would like to duplicate.

There are a number of things you can do to differentiate the cloned app from the original. First, give the app a different name.

Next, you can tweak the look of the icon, either by changing the color or by rotating it. App Cloner has a bunch of other options that you should explore, but for the purposes of this guide, we’ll stop here.

After you’ve made your customizations, tap the clone icon at the top.

Depending on the app you’re cloning, you may see a message about functionality issues. Not all apps will work correctly after being cloned. Tap “Continue.”

While the app is being cloned, you may also see more warnings. Let the cloning process finish.

Once the cloning is finished, you can select “Install App.” You will also need to give App Cloner permission to sideload apps first.

The Android APK installer will appear with the new app name and icon you created. Tap “Install” to finish.

Now you can open the newly cloned app and (hopefully) use it like normal. Again, keep in mind that this will not work with every app.

That’s it! You may not have a ton of uses for this functionality, but for those few cases, it’s an extremely handle tool to have at your disposal. Sometimes, just having two versions of the same app opens up your productivity.

RELATED: How to Use Two Apps Side by Side on Android