Android Activity Alias in Flutter

Create Multiple App Icons from a Single Flutter App (Like Amazon Pay)

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Introduction

Have you ever noticed that the Amazon app installs only once, but shows multiple icons in the Android app drawer—such as Amazon and Amazon Pay?

Each icon:

• Opens a different screen
• Has different quick actions
• Behaves like a separate mini-app

Yet:

• There is only one APK installed
• Storage usage is not duplicated

This powerful Android capability is called:

Activity Alias

And yes—you can implement it inside a Flutter app.

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What is Android Activity Alias?

Activity Alias is an Android manifest feature that allows:

• Multiple launcher icons
• Different labels & icons
• Different entry activities
• All from the same installed app

So instead of:

1 App → 1 Launcher Icon

You get:

1 App → Multiple Launcher Icons → Multiple Entry Experiences

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Real-World Use Cases

Popular apps using this pattern:

• Shopping + Payments separation
• Consumer + Business mode
• Lite tools inside a super-app
• Feature-focused entry points

This improves:

• User retention
• Feature discoverability
• Conversion to high-value flows (like payments)

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Concept Architecture

Internally, Android app structure looks like:

Single APK
 ├── MainActivity        → Opens Home
 ├── PayActivity         → Opens Payments
 ├── Activity Alias #1   → Launcher icon for Main
 ├── Activity Alias #2   → Launcher icon for Pay

Each alias appears as a separate app icon, but all share:

• Same package
• Same permissions
• Same data
• Same installation

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Visual Architecture Diagram Prompt (for AI image generation)

Use this prompt to generate a clean architecture diagram:

Implementing Activity Alias in Flutter

Flutter cannot directly create launcher aliases. You must configure it in the Android native layer.

We’ll do this step-by-step.

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Step 1 — Create a Second Android Activity

Open:

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

Add a new activity:

<activity
    android:name=".PayActivity"
    android:exported="true"
    android:theme="@style/Theme.App">
</activity>

This activity will later open a different Flutter route.

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Step 2 — Add Activity Alias for Second Launcher Icon

<activity-alias
    android:name=".PayLauncher"
    android:enabled="true"
    android:exported="true"
    android:icon="@mipmap/ic_pay"
    android:label="My Pay"
    android:targetActivity=".PayActivity">

    <intent-filter>
        <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN"/>
        <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER"/>
    </intent-filter>

</activity-alias>

Now Android will:

• Show another icon in app drawer
• Launch PayActivity
• Still keep single installation

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Launcher Result Illustration Prompt

Step 3 — Connect PayActivity to Flutter Route

Create:

PayActivity.kt

class PayActivity : FlutterActivity() {
    override fun getInitialRoute(): String {
        return "/pay"
    }
}

This tells Flutter:

“When launched from Pay icon → open /pay screen.”

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Step 4 — Handle Route Inside Flutter

MaterialApp(
  initialRoute: '/',
  routes: {
    '/': (_) => HomeScreen(),
    '/pay': (_) => PayScreen(),
  },
);

Done 🎉

You now have:

• Two app icons
• Two independent entry flows
• One Flutter app

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User Flow Diagram Prompt

Advanced Capabilities

1. Enable/Disable Icons Dynamically

You can:

• Show Pay icon only after login
• Hide feature-based icons
• Run A/B experiments

Controlled via:

PackageManager.setComponentEnabledSetting()

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2. Separate Analytics Per Icon

Track:

• Which launcher opened the app
• Conversion from Pay icon vs Home
• Feature adoption

This is huge for product teams.

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3. White-Label Mini-Apps Inside One APK

Activity alias enables:

• Partner-branded entry points
• Region-specific icons
• Campaign-based launchers

Without:

• Multiple builds
• Store re-submission

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Product Strategy Illustration Prompt

Android vs iOS Limitation

Android

✔ Multiple launcher icons supported ✔ Separate quick actions per icon ✔ Same installation

iOS

❌ Multiple simultaneous icons not allowed ✔ Siri Shortcuts workaround ✔ Quick actions via long-press

So true Activity Alias exists only on Android.

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When Should You Use Activity Alias?

Use it when you want:

• Faster access to high-value features
• Super-app architecture
• Payment or scan flows to feel independent
• Better engagement & retention

Avoid if:

• App is very small
• Features are not frequently used
• UX may feel confusing

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Final Thoughts

Android Activity Alias is one of the most underused growth features in mobile development.

With just:

• 1 extra activity
• 1 manifest alias
• 1 Flutter route

You can transform a simple Flutter app into a multi-entry super-app experience—just like major fintech and commerce platforms.

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If you'd like next, I can write:

• Dynamic icon enable/disable in Flutter (production code)
• Deep linking + activity alias combined architecture
• Super-app design system for Flutter

Just tell me.