New WhatsApp update adds custom per-chat wallpapers and more

Whatsapp Message Hero (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

What you need to know

WhatsApp now supports custom wallpapers on a per chat basis.
Users can now search for stickers, too.

WhatsApp has released a new iPhone app update that adds a much-requested feature – the ability to set a custom wallpaper on a chat by chat basis. Now you can have a picture of your dog in the family chat but something a bit more professional in the office chat.

Alongside the new wallpaper feature, WhatsApp has also made it easier to find the sticker that you're looking for by making them searchable for the first time. Amazingly, that wasn't something the app already offered.

This update also adds a new World Health Organization sticker pack as well, dubbed "Together at Home."

WhatsApp message thread on iPhone X (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz/iMore)

Search and find your stickers with text or emoji or browse through the common sticker categories.
New wallpapers give your chats a fresh new look. You can now set custom wallpapers per-chat, separate wallpapers in dark mode, and choose from a refreshed wallpaper gallery or different colors over the default doodle background.

The updated WhatsApp can be downloaded, for free, from the App Store now.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.