WhatsApp Web update: What to know about new themes

Meta is working on improvements for WhatsApp’s web app that will add themes similar to those already available on iOS and Android, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The update could introduce as many as 49 different themes.

Currently, WhatsApp on both iOS and Android supports theme customisation, allowing users not only to change chat backgrounds but also to adjust the colour of chat bubbles. However, the web and desktop versions do not yet include these features, though this is expected to change with the upcoming update.

The reported set of incoming themes includes multiple shades within the same colour families. This may suggest that Meta is still testing and refining which themes will ultimately be included at launch, especially since neither Android nor iOS currently offers such a large number of theme variations.

The update is also expected to bring per-chat customisation options, along with backgrounds that dynamically shift to match selected themes. This would further enhance personalisation on the platform.

Unlike platforms such as Messenger or Instagram’s messaging system, where themes can be visible to both participants in a conversation, WhatsApp is expected to maintain its current approach, keeping theme choices private and visible only to the individual user’s account.

WhatsApp has offered a web app for a few years now, but the company often issues updates to its mobile apps before its web app. That's by design, of course, the mobile app is WhatsApp's real bread and butter here. The web app could certainly do with some spicing up, as the interface remains quite dull despite its current paltry number of available customisation features (currently limited to a pre-selected array of colours and adding doodles) A fully fleshed out themes system would be a marked improvement on what has so far been a drab look, and Meta's pretty good at making engaging desktop clients for messaging app with Messenger and Instagram as examples.

The team behind WhatsApp is also said to be working on a username feature, and while the company hasn't announced it, this move would bring it in line with other Meta products like Facebook and Instagram, as well as rivals like Telegram which all offer messaging via username.

Both features are in advanced stages of development and could roll out later this year, but WhatsApp has yet to make any public announcements about either.