Messages app on your Galaxy phone can now have more colorful chats

All Galaxy phones and tablets now use Google Messages as their default messaging app, and Google continues to add new features every few weeks. One feature that has recently been spotted in Google Messages is the ability to apply themes to individual chat threads.

The Google Messages app on Galaxy phones has started receiving (via 9To5Google) a new feature called Chat Themes for some users (who opted the open beta version of the app). While you can already change the colors of chat bubbles, the new feature also lets you customize the chat background. However, these changes are visible only to you. The person on the other end of the conversation will continue to see their own selected theme. This marks a departure from Google’s earlier implementation, which applied the same chat theme to both users in a conversation.

Currently, you can independently customize chat bubble colors and background wallpapers for each conversation. Background options are categorized into themes such as Animals, Architecture, Black & White, Cityscapes, Landscapes, Macro, and more.

Similar customization features have long been available in messaging apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp, and Google is now bringing Google Messages closer to feature parity with those platforms.