How to use custom chat themes on Google Messages right now
Google Messages has introduced a new custom chat themes feature for users on both stable and beta versions. To access this, users must ensure their app is updated and RCS chats are enabled in the settings menu.
Why it matters
This update addresses a long-standing user demand for personalization in one of the most widely used messaging applications on Android.
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0 • Joe Maring / Android Authority Follow us on Google Discover Add us as preferred source Google Messages is a solid all-around texting app, but it still lacks some pretty basic features, or has only recently added them. One such feature is custom chat themes. In the year 2026, Google Messages is just now rolling out proper theme customization .
As someone who loves tweaking and customizing my Android phone as much as possible, the fact that Google Messages hasn’t supported chat themes until now has been an insane omission. But thankfully, as of late August 2026, chat themes have finally arrived.
If you use Google Messages and want to start customizing your chats today, here’s everything you need to know.
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