How to change the background on iPhone Messages

Filipe Espósito for Engadget Customizing the look of iOS is a good way to make your iPhone more fun and unique. You could already do this by changing your wallpaper, icon style and, as of iOS 26, even the intensity and translucency of the (somewhat unpopular) Liquid Glass effect. But there was one set of customization options where Apple was falling behind competitor apps, and that was Messages. While most messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp — and even chat functions within apps like Instagram — already offered different themes to choose from, Apple's Messages app always had a boring white background (or black if you're in Dark Mode). That changed with iOS 26 last year, so you can now zhuzh up the background of conversations in the Messages app to add a little more of your personalit