WhatsApp’s design may be a bit long in the tooth, but it remains among the most widely used messengers in the world. It doesn’t look like we’re having a complete overhaul anytime soon, but at least the company has announced that it’s introducing a few new wallpapers as well as the ability to customize backgrounds for one-on-one chats. Now it’s also easier to find stickers – they become searchable with text and emoji.

New wallpaper options.

The new wallpapers can be accessed in the WhatsApp settings to apply them globally or in the overflow menu at the top right to set them for individual chats or groups. A new picker lets you add signature WhatsApp doodles to solid color backgrounds – a nice addition. There are also new collections of “light” and “dark” wallpapers. You can use them to create two separate themes for light and dark mode, but you can also use two of your own custom backgrounds.

WhatsApp is also showcasing a new WHO animated sticker pack based on current art Together at Home. You will be able to find it in the sticker picker once it has been deployed to you.

In addition, the company makes it easy to find stickers. When you enter smileys in the compose box, they are automatically filled with sticker suggestions, similar to Telegram. You will also be able to search for stickers with text. However, creators must first add tags and emoji to their sticker packs, so it may take some time before your collection is fully searchable.

It looks like the changes are rolling out as a server-side update – some of us here at AP already have the new wallpapers on the WhatsApp beta, while others don’t. You can download the latest version of the messenger from the Play Store or APK Mirror, but the new features may not be showing to you at this time.

Whatsapp messenger
Whatsapp messenger