Google Messages Gets Personal with Custom Chat Themes
Google Messages has rolled out new chat themes that allow users to personalize their conversations. This upgrade comes after years of improving the app, particularly since the introduction of RCS. Until now, customizing chat look was limited to changing the color of chat bubbles.
The new feature lets users pick from a selection of photos or upload their own as backgrounds and adjust the color of chat bubbles to match. It's a significant upgrade that makes Google Messages feel more fun, but some features are missing.
One notable absence is Nano Banana, which would have allowed users to generate custom backgrounds on-device. This feature already exists in Apple Messages, allowing users to describe or edit preloaded backgrounds with Apple Intelligence.
Another limitation is that chat themes do not sync across devices, meaning changes are only visible to the user who applied them. However, some apps like Instagram and Facebook Messenger allow background syncing, which can lead to fun surprises for users.