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Google Messages Introduces Custom Chat Themes and Backgrounds on Android

🔄 Updated 2h ago
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Key points

  • Custom chat themes and backgrounds are now available in Google Messages.
  • Users can change bubble accent colors and chat wallpapers.
  • Customizations are private and only visible to the sender.
  • The feature requires RCS to function.

New Customization Options for Google Messages

Google Messages has officially rolled out custom chat themes and backgrounds on Android, following a period of beta testing. This update allows users to personalize the appearance of their individual conversations within the messaging application.

Personalizing Chat Aesthetics

The new feature enables users to modify the accent color of message bubbles and select custom background wallpapers for each chat. Google provides a gallery of curated backgrounds across categories like Animals, Landscapes, and Space, and users can also upload their own images. Message bubbles automatically adjust to complement the chosen scheme, with options to manually tweak the color palette.

Private Customization

These chat themes are private to the user and are only visible on their device. This ensures that personal aesthetic choices do not impact the recipient's view of the conversation. The feature requires RCS to be active for functionality.

How to Apply Themes

To set a chat theme, users open a desired chat in Google Messages, tap the recipient's name or the More icon, and then select 'Chat theme'. From there, they can choose a color preset or browse wallpapers from the gallery or their own photos. After selecting, a preview screen appears before applying the theme. Users can also reset themes to default settings.

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Reporting from

Google Messages officially launched custom chat themes and backgrounds for Android users, allowing personalization of individual chat bubble colors and wallpapers. This feature, requiring RCS, enables users to customize chat aesthetics privately without affecting the recipient's view.