Have you recently started seeing two Settings apps on your Samsung phone? If you do then you might be worried about an Android system-level app being installed twice. At first, this may look suspicious and make you believe that your phone has got some malware.
Well, we can't rule out the possibility of rogue Android apps completely, but let's not make assumptions—let's see what is actually causing the Settings app to appear twice on One UI.
Why The Settings App Appears Twice On Samsung One UI
Samsung One UI provides a 'Dual Messenger' feature. The feature allows you to install a second copy of several social media and messenger apps like: WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, Snapchat etc.
So, technically, you can set up two accounts on your Samsung phone using this app cloning feature. But that is not all. Once you clone a supported app using the 'Dual Messenger' feature, several other apps also get cloned as a working requirement.
So, you may not only see two Settings apps, but you may also see two Chrome browser apps, two Android System WebView apps, and two Google Play Services apps. However, these apps are used internally by the cloned app and will not appear twice in the app drawer.
Do Cloned Apps on My Samsung Phone Mean Malware?
It could be a possibility as no Android phone is 100% secure. Hackers try their best to trick Android users globally to install rogue apps that look legitimate.
Once installed, such apps can lock your device, steal sensitive data, encrypt your data and demand ransomware, show you a large number of ads, or secretly use your phone for data mining.
The chances of such malware attacks are quite low to zero if you're not getting yourself tricked in installing unknown apps. Also, Samsung's Auto Blocker security feature auto-blocks third-party app installations, so, your phone is pretty secure and chances of malware getting into your phone is quite low.
Make sure to never install Android APKs by downloading them from random websites and never disable Auto Blocker.
If you have downloaded several unknown Android APKs then delete them immediately as they might be malicious. Deleted files go straight to the recyle bin and you must also delete those files from there also.
You can manage your One UI's recycle bin pretty fast by learning How to Add a Recycle Bin Shortcut to the Samsung Home Screen
How to Fix The Settings App Appearing Twice On a Samsung Phone
If this is bothering you then simply disable the 'Dual Messenger' feature on your Samsung phone and delete the cloned app data and storage. But only do this if you are not using an account in the second copy of the installed app.
Caution:Deleting a dual app can delete your app's data unless you are choosing to keep it. You can later restore the data for the cloned app if dual storage space is not deleted.
- Go to Settings > Advanced features > Dual Messenger.
- Look for the apps that are enabled here.
- Tap the blue switch next to every app to uninstall their second copy.
- Disabling 'Dual Messenger' only uninstalls the cloned app but doesn't delete their data.
- You can still access their data in My Files > Internal storage (Dual Messenger).
- If you also wish to permanently delete the 'Dual Messenger' app data, go to the dual messenger option in Settings again. Tap the three vertical dots in the top-right corner and tap 'Delete all my data' and then 'Delete' once a delete confirmation popup appears.
- You have successfully deleted the Dual Messenger apps and their storage on your Samsung phone and now you won't see duplicate apps on your phone.
If you're also facing low storage problem on your Samsung phone, check How to Delete Invisible Backups on Samsung Android Phones. These backups take a large space on your Samsung phone and must be deleted accordingly.
Conclusion
In most cases, seeing the Settings app twice or other duplicate apps is related to Samsung One UI's Dual Messenger feature, and is not a sign of malware. The feature is quite useful for those who wish to setup two accounts for the same app. However, if you enabled this app just to test and now no longer want it, disable it entirely.
Disabling this feature will delete the associated data and duplicate Settings issue will be resolved. If this helped you then take a minute to share this article.
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