How to Change Your WhatsApp Chat Wallpaper

Tap through each step to see how to give a chat β€” or all of them β€” a custom wallpaper.

  1. Open the chat you want to customize

    Go into the conversation whose background you want to change.

  2. Open the chat menu and select Wallpaper

    Tap the three-dot menu in that chat and choose "Wallpaper."

  3. Pick a built-in wallpaper, color, or photo

    Choose from WhatsApp's preset wallpapers and colors, or select a photo from your own gallery.

  4. Choose where it applies

    Decide whether to set this wallpaper for just this one chat or as the default for all your chats.

  5. Why it's useful

    A distinct wallpaper makes a specific conversation easy to recognize at a glance, and it's a small way to personalize an app you open dozens of times a day.

A private setting only you see

Chat wallpaper is a personal display setting stored on your own device. Changing it never affects what the other person sees on their end, and they aren't notified when you change it.

Different from changing the app's overall theme

Wallpaper only changes the background image behind the message bubbles in a specific chat. Switching the app's overall light or dark appearance is a separate setting, covered in its own guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing my wallpaper change it for the other person too?

No β€” wallpaper is a local, personal setting. The person you're chatting with keeps whatever wallpaper they've set on their own device, regardless of what you choose.

Can I set a different wallpaper for each chat?

Yes β€” you can set a unique wallpaper per conversation, or set one wallpaper as the default that applies to every chat that doesn't have its own custom wallpaper.