Meta-owned messaging application – WhatsApp – is set to introduce vibrant, themed icons for contacts, group chats, and communities in a future update, aiming to make chat navigation more visually distinctive.

As reported by WABetaInfo, currently, the icons for chats without profile photos appear in a neutral grey, providing a uniform but somewhat bland look.

However, with this update, WhatsApp plans to add color-coded icons that will make it easier for users to identify contacts and groups at a glance by associating specific colors with each chat.

This feature is similar to Android’s stock address book, where each contact is assigned a distinct color-coded icon, improving visual differentiation, especially for contacts without profile pictures.

For WhatsApp, the colored icons will appear if a contact has no profile photo or has hidden it due to privacy settings, displaying a unique icon based on a themed color scheme.

This is particularly helpful for users with multiple contacts who share the same or similar names, as it will provide an extra layer of visual distinction.

Similarly, the update will also enhance group chat and community icons, which can be difficult to differentiate if they lack a designated group image.

By applying distinct colors and designs to each chat, users will be able to recognize groups more easily without opening each one individually.

While the feature is still under development, beta testers can already explore it in the latest WhatsApp beta update (version 2.24.24.12) for Android on the Google Play Store.