How to change a Google Hangouts theme

Google Hangouts is a popular and well-established instant messenger with VoIP support which is widely used for personal and business communication. However, it is not the most customizable solution on the market. While other messengers offer their users some additional options to set custom backgrounds and color scheme and thus make the interface more pleasant for their tastes, Hangouts does not include the possibility to change the default colors or apply some other theme. It was possible to change the chat background settings in one of the previous apps, Google Allo messenger, but this product is now canceled.

At the current stage, this product is available in the form of a mobile app for Android devices and iPhone/iPad and also as the web version or the Chrome plugin which can perform in the same way as the PC application. The interfaces of the mobile apps and the plugin window are designed in neutral colors, but it is impossible for a user to change the Google Hangouts theme or apply their own background in these apps.

Possibility of choosing a different theme in the web version of Google Hangouts

The only area where it is possible to add some customization to the theme used is the web version of this product. There it is possible to change the wallpaper. There is a set of default wallpapers in high resolution which can be applied as the browser page background. This theme is independent from the custom appearance set in the Chrome browser or in the Gmail interface.

Thus, it is possible to change the Google Hangouts wallpaper in the web version where users access the service in the browser. Unfortunately, it does not present the whole set of background images, the new theme will be chosen by the service itself at random.

So, to change the background in the web interface of the service, please just do the following:

1. Open the main page of the webchat or navigate to Hangouts from the Gmail interface:

   

2. Click the the refresh icon in the browser where the web version is open. Another background image will be presented right away.

   

If you don't like the wallpapers offered to you, refresh the page again, and the new themes will be applied every time.

Developers of the service claim that they work more on improving their G Suite team solutions, but this does not mean that the improvement of this standard messenger is stopped or canceled. They might add more features to this solution in future, as it is one of the most popular services of instant messages exchange and voice and video calls over the Internet.