Android phone version gets multi-user support

Google has decided to give the smartphone version of Android support for the use of multiple accounts. On Android tablets, users have been able to switch to a different profile with their own settings for some time.

The functionality will probably come with Android L, the next major update of Android. A Google employee notes on Android’s bug tracker that the “development team has implemented this functionality” and that it “will be available as part of the next public build.”

Since Android 4.2, the tablet version of the operating system has support for multiple profiles. The private data and personal preferences of the profiles are thereby separated from each other. The owner of a tablet can also choose to create a profile with restrictions, which, for example, prevents users from making Play Store purchases.