Why are there hidden apps in my phone that I didn't download? Have I been hacked?

[Android Central Question]

So casually looking through my phone, I see that I have duplicates of some apps. I cannot decipher the frak from fake.. I feel I've been hacked and people have access to the information in my phone. Im pissed I have no privacy and that someone would even take the time out of their lives to encrypt or clone my phone, I'm not that interesting. Unless they're able to use my data???? I've been getting notifications from my provider that I've went over my usage but its unlimited....? SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME.

 

[djrakowski]

Welcome to Android Central!

Where are you seeing duplicate apps - in the app drawer, on the homescreen, or in Settings->Apps?

Which apps are duplicated?

When I look at the list of apps in Settings->Apps on my Galaxy S9+, there are 3 Phone apps, all with the same icon, and it's been like that since I took the phone out of the box and booted it for the first time. I suspect one of them is the main phone app, and the other two are related to background services it uses. That could be the case with yours as well.

Regarding excess data usage: you should be able to determine how much data is being used by each app. The location of this information depends on which phone you're using. On my GS9+, it's in Settings->Connections->Data usage->Mobile data usage.

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