WhatsApp has finally decided to bring support for chat-specific themes to the Android version of the app. Theming has always been available on WhatsApp for Android, but it was quite limited and also basically involved changing the background wallpaper of said chat. A new chat-specific theming interface has now been spotted online, and it adds some much-needed customizations, much like Facebook’s Messenger app. Facebook’s Messenger has long had chat-specific themes, so it’s a bit strange why it took so long to port to WhatsApp.

To be clear, the new theme interface and chat-specific themes are only available on the beta version of WhatsApp for Android for now. In a post, WABetaInfo posted a few screenshots (visible in the image above) that show a theme selection interface that is very different from what’s currently available on Android devices.

Whenever WhatsApp decides to release a new update, users will be able to choose from 20 Chat colors and up to 22 textured Chat themes. All of these themes will have preset chat colors for chat bubbles (different for sender and recipient), adding a new level of personalization to chats. These themes, unlike what is currently available, will also be chat-specific. So, just like changing backgrounds, users will be able to choose and set a specific theme for each chat.

The feature was recently spotted in the beta version of WhatsApp for iOS. In terms of features, both versions of the app remain the same. Given that the feature arrived earlier on the iOS version of WhatsApp, there is a good chance that it will appear on the iOS release before it hits Android.

It was recently revealed that Google’s Gemini virtual assistant on Android will soon be able to send messages via voice commands. The feature is currently available when using Google Assistant, which is being gradually replaced by Gemini. Just like the chat theme, the Gemini integration is also still being tested.