Published May 29, 2026, 12:59 PM EDT Chethan is a reporter at Android Police, focusing on the news coverage for the site. He has covered tech for over a decade for multiple publications, including Times Internet, Guiding Tech, Android Headlines, and several others.  His love for Android dates back to the Samsung/Google Nexus S, and his first Android phone was the HTC Desire HD in 2010. Away from work, he's on the lookout for live cricket streams or NBA highlights. He also enjoys the occasional hour or two of console/mobile gaming whenever time permits. While Google Messages offers plenty in terms of functionality, the app's look and feel has felt quite dated, especially compared to apps like WhatsApp. The latter lets you customize your chats extensively and add custom images as chat backgrounds. Although Google's messaging app doesn't offer such functionality yet, a report in April suggested it was about to change.…