Samsung is shutting down its own Samsung Messages app in the US this month, which means a lot of Galaxy owners are about to find Google Messages sitting as their default texting app for the first time. If that’s you, there’s a new customization feature worth knowing about before you start setting things up: Google Messages Chat Themes, a per-conversation redesign tool that replaces the app’s old, fairly basic color picker.
Here’s what Chat Themes actually does, and exactly how to get it on your phone right now.
What is Google Messages Chat Themes?
Chat Themes is a rebuilt customization menu inside Google Messages that lets you restyle the look of an individual conversation. It replaces the app’s old “Change colors” option in the overflow menu — that menu entry is now literally renamed “Chat theme.”
Instead of just picking a bubble color, you now get two ways to customize a thread:
- Colors: 9 preset color options, plus a “Dynamic Color” mode that automatically pulls a matching palette from whatever background image you set.
- Wallpapers: Curated background collections sorted into nine categories — Animals, Architecture, Black and White, Cityscapes, Landscapes, Macro, Space, Sunsets, and Textures.
- Custom photo: You can skip the presets entirely and upload your own photo as the chat background.
According to Google’s own support documentation, the feature works the same way regardless of whether the thread is RCS or plain SMS, and it also works in mixed Android-to-iPhone conversations. It’s a per-conversation, per-device setting — it isn’t tied to RCS specifically, so it won’t be a Galaxy-only or Pixel-only perk once it’s live for you.
How to get Chat Themes in Google Messages
Chat Themes is currently rolling out through the Google Messages beta program, so you’ll need to opt in before you can see it. Here’s the process:
- Open the Google Play Store and search for “Google Messages.”
- Scroll down on the app listing page until you see “Join the beta” and tap it to opt in.
- Once you’re enrolled, update the Google Messages app from the Play Store if an update is available.
- Open any conversation thread inside the app.
- Tap the 3-dot overflow menu in the top right corner.
- Look for a menu item labeled “Chat theme.” A red “new feature” dot badge next to it is the sign that it’s available on your account.
- If you don’t see it yet, force-close the app completely — swipe it away in your recent apps switcher rather than just backgrounding it — then reopen Messages and check the menu again.
- Tap “Chat theme,” then choose a color (including Dynamic Color) or a wallpaper category, or tap to upload your own photo, and hit Apply to set it.
To undo any of it, go back into the same “Chat theme” menu and tap “Reset to default.”
A few things to know before you go looking for it
Joining the beta and updating the app doesn’t guarantee you’ll see Chat Themes immediately. Based on reports from users in the r/GoogleMessages “Customizable backgrounds here” thread on Reddit, the rollout appears to be server-side and staggered rather than tied purely to your app version — and so far it’s showing up heavily concentrated among users in the US, with only scattered reports from Canada and Greece. Google hasn’t published anything official confirming this pattern, so treat it as community-reported: if you’ve enrolled in the beta and updated but still don’t see “Chat theme” in your menu, it likely just hasn’t reached your account yet rather than something being broken on your end.
Second, Google’s in-app text for the feature explicitly says “Only you will see these changes,” implying your theme choice is private to your device. Worth flagging, though: at least one user in that same Reddit thread reported that their contact was notified their side had “changed the color to violet” — which would contradict that stated behavior. This is a single, unverified user report, not a confirmed bug, and Google hasn’t commented on it — but if privacy of your customization matters to you, it’s a reasonable thing to test cautiously rather than assume.
One functional limitation worth knowing about: if you use the Dynamic Color option, your bubble color adapts to whatever background image you’ve picked rather than being independently adjustable. You don’t get fully separate control of bubble color and wallpaper in every mode — pick a background you’re happy pairing with an auto-generated palette.
When will it reach your phone?
Right now, Chat Themes is beta-only, with no confirmed date from Google for a wider or stable release. Signing up for the beta is the only way to get early access today, and even then, availability depends on that server-side rollout catching up to your account. If you’d rather wait for the standard, non-beta version of Google Messages to get it, there’s no official timeline yet — but given the feature is already live for a growing number of beta testers, a broader rollout in the coming weeks looks likely.
