WhatsApp tests animated chat themes on Android

WhatsApp is testing an Android chat-theme update that adds animated wallpapers inside a new Featured category, with motion kept slow enough to stay behind the conversation instead of distracting from it. The change is still in development rather than broadly available, but the current design already shows a clear structure: animated Featured themes, returning Doodle backgrounds, and a Minimal option for plain chats.

Animated wallpapers enter WhatsApp's Featured themes

The update expands an area WhatsApp already uses for chat appearance customization, rather than introducing a brand-new part of the app. In this version, the theme picker is split into three categories: Featured, Doodle, and Minimal. Featured is where the animated wallpapers live, while Doodle brings back pattern-style backgrounds and Minimal sticks to a plain white or dark look based on system settings.

The animated option is the most visible change, but it is being handled conservatively. Instead of a fast-moving or full-screen effect, the wallpaper motion is slow and subtle, staying in the background while messages remain the main focus. For users who rely on WhatsApp all day for customer conversations, internal coordination, or sales follow-up, that matters in practical terms: the app is adding more visual separation between chats without turning the message view into a noisy screen.

Bubble colors follow the wallpaper

WhatsApp is also pairing each wallpaper with matching chat bubble colors automatically. That means choosing a theme changes more than the background alone; the conversation UI adjusts with it so the overall look stays consistent. The matching appears to be part of the same readability-first approach as the slower animation, keeping the chat view coordinated instead of forcing users to build a theme manually from separate pieces.

There is still some flexibility built in. Users can override the automatic bubble color if they want a different combination, so the system is not locked to the default pairing. That gives the feature a practical middle ground: WhatsApp can make the theme look coherent out of the box, while still leaving room for operators and everyday users who want a specific visual setup for long-running chats.

Android beta status and open rollout questions

For now, the feature remains an Android beta-stage development item, not a public rollout. One source links the work to WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.26.31.2, but that build detail should be read as a reference point, not as proof that the themes are widely available to testers. There is no confirmed sign yet that beta users can turn the new theme categories on, so availability appears to be limited to development work rather than a tester-facing rollout.

WhatsApp has not confirmed when these themes will reach beta testers more broadly or when they might move into the public app. It is also unclear whether the same categories will come to iOS. For now, Android users should treat this as an in-development beta feature to watch, not a setting they can expect to find in the app today.

Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI. Images are for illustrative purposes only.