WhatsApp rolls out Telegram-like chat themes but not to everyone

WhatsApp is now rolling out new chat themes to its Android app, allowing users to set more colourful backgrounds for chats and change the colour of the message blobs similarly to Telegram. However, the rollout – which comes months after the app began working on the feature – is taking place for beta testers, meaning the new feature is not currently available to everyone.

According to WABetaInfo, the new themes are chat-specific, unlike the existing ones that apply to all chats. They are also different from wallpapers because not only do these themes have custom wallpapers but change the colour of the message boxes to harmonise with the colour theme. It is also in tune with light and dark modes, which have been available for users on both Android and iOS platforms. The new themes are currently accessible to beta testers of the Android app.

The chat-specific themes are similar to Telegram’s and even those in Facebook Messenger. Strangely, Meta took so long to introduce them to WhatsApp. However, they will work slightly differently. Instead of being visible to all members of a chat, the themes will be private, meaning each user can apply their own theme for a chat.

The screenshots in the report show different customisations for themes, such as the option to pick a colour from the palette. Users will also be able to change the wallpaper of a theme without having to change the colour of message boxes. According to the current beta version, WhatsApp will offer 20 different colours and over 22 textured themes to choose from, but the app will possibly add more variations in future.

The chat themes are available in the latest WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.24.21.34, available from the Google Play Store to only testers. Users can access the feature by signing up for the beta programme.