Can the same app reside inside and outside the work container?

Yes. You can have the same app installed on both the personal and work profile simultaneously on devices enrolled in the Android Enterprise Profile Owner mode. Though the device shows multiple instances of the same app (differentiated by the work profile badge), an app is installed only once. But both the profiles retain separate memory spaces for the app to contain the app information. These memory spaces do not synchronize or communicate with each other during functioning unless specified on the device settings to connect your personal and work apps.

You can distribute apps or perform app management over the work profile without affecting the user’s personal profile. As you initiate the app installation using the Mandatory Apps policy or the Install Application action from Hexnode, the app is installed on the work profile only. To use the app privately on the personal profile, the user will have to manually install it on your personal profile. In either case, if the app already resides on a profile; it isn’t installed again. Instead, the device creates a new memory space for the app for the given profile.

There are certain things to be taken care of while installing apps on work containers. When the app resides on both the profiles, you cannot have multiple versions of the same app to co-exist on the device.

1. In house apps
   • The app installation might fail on the work profile if a lower version of the app is distributed to the device when the personal profile already contains the updated version.
   • When the app is present on the personal profile, and you distribute a higher version of the same app, the app residing on the personal profile gets updated to the higher version.
2. Store apps
   When you push a higher version of the app, the app installed on the personal profile gets updated automatically.