You can change the background (wallpaper) and the bubble colours (theme) of your chats. Set one look for all chats in Settings, or give one special chat its own look from that chat's info screen. Only you see these changes.
Change it for all chats
- Open Settings (Android: ⋮ › Settings; iPhone: Settings at the bottom).
- In newer versions, tap Chats or Appearance (the name depends on your version), then Default chat theme.
- Pick a theme. A theme sets the wallpaper and the colour of your message bubbles together.
- To change only the background, tap Wallpaper (or Chat wallpaper) and choose a colour, a picture, or My photos to use your own photo.
- Preview it and tap Set or Done.
Older versions keep this under Settings › Chats › Wallpaper. Some versions also offer wallpapers made with Meta AI from a description you type; it is optional and not in every country.
Change it for one chat
- Open the chat (for example, your family group).
- Tap the chat name at the top.
- Tap Chat theme (or Wallpaper and sound / Wallpaper in some versions).
- Choose a theme or wallpaper and confirm.
Now this chat looks different from the rest, so you always know where you are typing. That helps avoid sending a private message to the wrong group.
Dark mode
- WhatsApp follows the phone's dark mode by default.
- Android: Settings › Chats (or Appearance) › Theme › Dark, Light or System default.
- iPhone: change dark mode in the iPhone's own Settings › Display & Brightness.
- You can pick separate wallpapers for light and dark mode, and dim the wallpaper in dark mode so text is easier to read.
Go back to the original look
Open the same wallpaper or theme screen and choose Default (or Reset).
If it doesn't work
- Can't find Chat theme: update WhatsApp; menu names change between versions.
- Text hard to read: choose a plainer wallpaper or turn on dimming. For bigger letters see language and font size.
- Your photo looks stretched: pick a tall (portrait) photo.
Safety tip
Download wallpapers only from inside WhatsApp or from your own photos. "WhatsApp theme" apps that promise new colours or hidden features are often modified WhatsApp copies that can get your number banned. See banned account.
This is GroupChatOn’s own easy guide. We are not WhatsApp and are not linked with WhatsApp or Meta. WhatsApp sometimes changes its menus: if a button looks different on your phone, update WhatsApp from the Play Store or App Store.
Still stuck?
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Questions, or an error not listed here?
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