Customize your Telegram messaging experience with themes

One of the great things about the best messaging apps is that you can customize and craft them to look just the way you want them. It’s true of Signal, it’s true of WhatsApp, and of course, it’s true of Telegram. We’ll show you just how easy it is to change your theme, backgrounds, and chat settings on Telegram so that your messaging experience is as colorful as you are.

How to change your theme and chat settings on Telegram

1. Open the Telegram app on your phone.
2. Tap on the menu icon in the top left corner.
3. Tap on Settings.

4. Tap on Chat Settings. From here, you can customize nearly every design feature of your chats, including text size and bubble shape, and color.

   

5. Tap on Change Chat Background.

6. Scroll through the available Chat Background options. You can upload your own Chat Background by tapping on Select from Gallery, or just choose to Set a color.

   

7. Select your favorite background.
   • Note that now you can also choose from a large selection of animated backgrounds that are multi-colored, gradient wallpapers that algorithmically move and update each time you send a message.
8. Tap on Blurred or Motion to change the effect of your Chat Background.

9. Tap Set Background to confirm.

   

10. To find additional backgrounds by color or theme, tap on the search bar at the top of the Change Chat Background screen.

11. Tap on a color to see options by color.

    

12. Type a topic in the search bar to find specific themes, like mountains or oceans.

    

13. From back in the Chat Settings menu, tap on one of the Color themes in the carousel. This will change the overall look and feel of the app itself.

    

14. Tap on one of the colored dots below the color theme to change the visual representation of chat bubbles, including customizing the exact color and gradient of the chat bubbles.

    

15. Scroll further down in the Chat Settings to activate features like Auto-Night Mode and Enable Animations.

16. Tap on the three-dot menu in the top right corner to create a new theme, or reset the app to its default state.

    

Millions of people have been flocking from other messaging apps like WhatsApp or SMS to apps like Signal and Telegram, largely because the latter offer security that is as good as — if not better than — the other options. These independent messaging apps like Telegram are also super-customizable and function as alternative social networks with private channels, custom stickers, and other fun features.

If you’re looking for one of the best Android phones to experience Telegram on, look no further than the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE.

Best for most

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE

$600 at Amazon
$600 at Best Buy
$570 at B&H

Unbeatable value

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE offers most of what you can get from the top-tier flagships at a very reasonable price point. With six different color options, you can customize the look of your phone to match your personality.