Google Messages could get iMessage, WhatsApp style customisation

Google is working on new customization features for its Messages app, including the ability to set personal photos as chat backgrounds, a long-requested addition that would bring it closer to rivals like Apple's iMessage and Meta's WhatsApp.

The feature was spotted in an APK teardown of Google Messages, with strings referencing options like “add photos,” “your photos,” “custom theme backgrounds,” and “bubble color.” These details all add up to one compelling picture; Google is making Messages more customizable.

Google's Messages app used to offer custom colours in the past before the app was redesigned with a consistent blue theme. Now, the app offers support for a small number of pre-selected colours, but nothing that goes as far as even WhatsApp's limited offering, and there's no background support at all.

The new changes suggest Google is looking to close that feature gap. If rolled out, they would make Messages feel more in line with what users now expect from modern messaging platforms, especially as Google continues to position the app as a direct competitor to iMessage and WhatsApp. In the same vein, features like profiles and cross-device message deletion rolled out last year.

Catching up to competitors

Google Messages remains the company's RCS-powered iMessage counterpart that's pre-installed on the best smartphones, but Messages has yet to catch up to rivals in terms of reach and mass appeal. This could go some way in changing that.

Customisation is a small thing, but it's a shiny object, and if there's one thing that attracts consumers to new products, it's shiny objects. It plays an outsized role in how users connect with messaging apps and makes platforms feel more engaging even if they fundamentally work the same way.

Messaging is a very personal thing, and giving users the ability to add that personal touch to their messages could be more convincing in making Google Messages feel less like a default app and more like a choice than any number of features.