WhatsApp is beginning to roll out an updated chat theme feature for iPhone users, introducing five categories, including animated wallpapers that slowly move behind conversations. These additions provide users with greater flexibility in customizing the appearance of individual chats while ensuring that message text remains readable and clear.
WhatsApp has started distributing five new chat theme categories: Featured, Nature, Live, Minimal, and Doodle. Just two weeks earlier, the site discovered references in the code pointing to the upcoming theme galleries.
The release adds the Featured, Nature, Live, Minimal, and Doodle categories, broadening the theme selection beyond the choices WhatsApp had previously tested. The feature is currently appearing for some users running WhatsApp for iOS version 26.33.73 from the App Store, though access remains restricted as the rollout continues gradually.
The site explains that Featured contains “a selection of the best themes available,” chosen by WhatsApp’s design team, while the Nature category “offers themes that bring outdoor landscapes to the chat screen.” The Live category, meanwhile, “features wallpapers that move slowly in the background,” whereas Minimal themes “apply a plain background to the chat screen: white in light mode and dark in dark mode.” Lastly, Doodle brings back WhatsApp’s classic wallpaper featuring its doodle patterns.
WhatsApp recently began providing these five categories after references to a more limited set of options were found in earlier beta releases.
The Live category brings wallpapers featuring subtle background motion, intended to introduce movement without becoming distracting while users read their messages. WhatsApp marks these themes with a small Live icon, allowing animated wallpapers to be identified more easily when they are also shown within the Featured category.
The Nature collection features outdoor imagery such as mountains, forests, and ocean landscapes, whereas Minimal applies plain white or dark backgrounds according to the iPhone’s appearance setting. Doodle retains WhatsApp’s recognizable patterned wallpaper, while Featured contains themes chosen by WhatsApp’s design team.
WhatsApp also automatically selects a corresponding chat bubble color whenever a user applies a theme, helping preserve sufficient contrast between the wallpaper and messages. Users nevertheless have the option to manually select a different bubble color if they want another appearance.
WhatsApp automatically selects a chat bubble color according to the chosen theme, and, as with WhatsApp rollouts, the company notes that the new feature may not become available to everyone immediately.
The new themes are currently rolling out to some App Store and beta users, meaning that installing the latest WhatsApp version does not ensure instant access. WhatsApp is expected to gradually broaden availability over the coming weeks.
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