GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
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.
Are you excited about chat themes in Google Messages? 7 votes Yes, I've been waiting so long for this! 29 % No, I'll never use them. 57 % I'm not sure, but I'll try it out. 14 %
What you need to access chat themes in Google Messages
Joe Maring / Android Authority
First things first, you’ll want to ensure your Google Messages app is up to date. To do this, open the Play Store, tap your profile icon in the top-right corner, tap Manage apps & device, and tap Updates available. If you have a waiting update for Google Messages, tap the Update button next to it.
Chat themes are live on my Pixel 11 Pro with the Google Messages app on version 20260824_01_RC00. I should note that I’m on the latest beta build of Messages, but chat themes are available on both stable and beta versions.
Additionally, chat themes only work if RCS is enabled in the Messages app. It should already be, but just to confirm, open Google Messages, tap your profile icon in the top-right, tap Messages settings, tap RCS chats, and ensure that Turn on RCS chats is enabled.
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