GoKawiilApple's iOS Messages now lets users set custom animated backgrounds per chat
Apple has added a feature to the Messages app that lets users personalize the background of individual conversations. Users can choose from built-in animated wallpapers like Color, Sky, Water, and Aurora, or upload their own photos, with the app also suggesting images from their library. An AI-powered Playground option can generate backgrounds too, though that requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.
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This update pushes Messages further into visual personalization territory already popular in apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, giving Apple another way to make its messaging ecosystem feel distinct. Because the background applies to everyone in the thread, it also introduces a new shared customization dynamic in group chats, and the AI-generation restriction to newer hardware reinforces Apple's strategy of tying premium features to its latest chips.
- Users can now set animated or photo-based backgrounds for individual Messages conversations.
- The chosen background is visible to all participants in the conversation, not just the user who set it.
- AI-generated backgrounds via Playground require an iPhone 15 Pro or later.
Apple iPhone 16 — Getting the full Messages experience, including Apple Intelligence-powered Playground backgrounds, means running on a recent iPhone. The iPhone 16 supports Apple Intelligence, so you can generate custom chat backgrounds and enjoy the animated Sky, Water and Aurora wallpapers right out of the box.
See Apple iPhone 16 on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: engadget.com — Filipe Espósito, 2026-09-01
Published there as: “How to change the background on iPhone Messages”
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