Beta testers have begun reporting that they can now customize the color of RCS chats in Google Messages This information comes from Android Police, which reported that custom color options for Rich Communication Services (RCS) chats are being rolled out to beta testers The new setting appeared after updating from version 20240228 to version 20240308 However, it appears that the feature is not yet available on all devices, as some report that the app does not show this option

According to reports, users can change the color by tapping the three-dot menu button within a Google Messages chat thread Upon tapping this option, the "Change Color" option appears in the overflow menu This option will also appear if the user selects "Details" or "Group Details" and then selects the "Change Color" option under the Image and Video section

Currently, there appear to be nine options available to the user The default theme takes a more subtle accent color from the current wallpaper and attempts to match it The other eight options use more vibrant colors for sent messages and backgrounds

Perhaps it should be noted that this feature currently only works for RCS messaging and does not affect SMS and MMS options, so there does not appear to be an app-wide option at this time

The ability to customize color options has been reserved for several months, as first advertised in November 2023 The option to customize colors was part of a feature drop celebrating the RCS-enabled Google Messages reaching 1 billion users Along with the customizable bubbles, there were also photo mojis, animated emojis, voice moods, and other features Not all of the promised additional features have appeared yet, but Google seems to be working hard to push them out

RCS is definitely on the rise, and even Apple is allowing this feature on its devices However, Android users seem to be making the most of RCS, which offers a wealth of options Meanwhile, Apple has stated that it plans to leave green bubbles in the chat for the time being