WhatsApp gets a free update to make chats much more fun

(Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)

published 17 February 2025

Quick Summary

WhatsApp constantly adds new features to its messaging platform, with the latest being a way to customise your chats.

Chat themes are rolling out over the coming weeks, allowing you to change the look of all chats, or adjust chats individually.

WhatsApp never stops adding new features to its messaging platform. Over the last year, it's introduced things like a secret code for locked chats, the ability to make voice messages disappear after they have been listened to, chat filters, and transcripts for voice messages.

But, you don't get 100 million users in the US by standing still and with that in mind, the service has now introduced yet another new feature – chat themes.

In a blog post, WhatsApp explained that chat themes are designed to "make your chats uniquely yours with colourful chat bubbles and new wallpapers".

With the new feature, you will be able to turn those signature green bubbles into a different colour, as well as change the background of your chat to your favourite colour or picture too.

There are pre-set chat themes, as you would expect, and these will change both the colour of the bubbles and backdrop, or you can mix and match to find a style that suits you.

There are new wallpapers as well – which we have to say we are all in favour of – and with 30 new options, there's bound to be at least one that tickles your fancy. If not though, you can still upload a background from your camera roll so you could create a theme that is entirely unique to you.

You can choose whether you apply the same chat theme to all your conversations, or you can make each chat different – though that's a lot of effort, so maybe just pick your extra special chats to give a little love and attention to. It's worth noting that only you will see your chat theme so no one will know if you've given them special treatment – whether good or bad.

How to change your chat theme on WhatsApp

It's easy enough to change your chat theme on WhatsApp.

Open WhatsApp
Tap on Settings
Click on Chats
Choose Default chat theme
Change to what you want your theme to be

To customise each chat individually, on iOS devices, you need to click the chat name at the top of the chat screen and select Chat theme. For Android, click the 3-dot menu and choose Chat theme.

The new chat theme feature is rolling out now and will be available globally in the coming weeks.

Britta is a freelance technology journalist who has been writing about tech for over a decade. She's covered all consumer tech from phones, tablets and wearables to smart home and beauty tech, with everything in between. She has a fashion journalism degree from London College of Fashion and previously did a long stint as deputy editor of Pocket-lint, but you’ll now find her byline on several titles including GQ, the Express, the Mirror, TechRadar, Stuff and iMore. You'll never find her without her Apple Watch on, aiming to complete her rings so she can justify the extra bar of chocolate and she loves a good iPhone trick.