WhatsApp has been around for many years now but it lacks extensive customisation, as can be seen in competitor apps like Telegram. However, that should change soon, as WhatsApp has been spotted testing Chat themes for its Android app, allowing users to change the look of their App per their liking.
As spotted by WABetaInfo in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.17.19 update, WhatsApp is testing a new section where users will be able to choose their favorite default chat theme. The feature isn’t live yet, even for beta users, and is scheduled for release in a future update. As the feature is still in development, a preview of the themes WhatsApp will include is not available yet.
However, the feature tracker says that we can expect at least 10 chat themes to enrich the user experience. A similar chat themes feature was also spotted in WhatsApp for iOS a few months back, which showed around 5 themes for both light and dark modes of the app. The feature will allow you to set a new default chat theme and it will be applied to all your conversations on WhatsApp. It’s possible WhatsApp may allow for chat-specific theming in the future as well.
With this customization option, users can select a new colour for their chat bubbles and wallpapers from various choices. Once selected, the colour will automatically apply as the default chat theme, adjusting both the wallpaper and bubble colour accordingly.
In addition, the feature tracker also notes that selecting a default chat theme will only affect your own interface and won’t alter the appearance of the chats for the user on the other end like how it does in Instagram chats. There’s no word on when the Chat themes feature will make its way to the stable version of WhatsApp Android app. However, one can expect it to arrive before the end of the year or early next year.