How to Customize the Messages App on Your iPhone / iPad (Video)
Ever want to change the colors of the bubbles in the messaging app? How about add the contact’s image you’re talking to into the mix? Thanks to a jailbreak tweak released in Cydia called Messages Customizer, you can. In addition to changing the colors and adding contact photos, you can also make the bubbles larger, add a gradient to older messages, and even remove the tails on each message to get rid of that slightly cartoony look of speech bubbles. Here’s how to customize the messaging app on your iPhone or iPad running iOS 7.
I. Jailbreak your iPhone/iPad
To do this procedure you must be jailbroken. If you aren’t, you can head to our Jailbreak How To’s section and pick the jailbreak for your version of iOS (currently at the time of writing this is 7.0.4). Once done with that procedure and you have Cydia installed, head back here to continue.
II. Install Messages Customiser
1. Open Cydia.
2. Tap Search in the bottom right corner.
3. Type in Messages Customiser.
4. Tap on Messages Customiser when it shows up.
5. Tap Install at the top right.
6. Tap Restart.
III. Customize the Messages App
1. Open Settings.
2. Tap on Messages Customiser.
3. Change the settings you want to change. Most are self-explanatory, but here’s a list of the more complicated ones below:
- App Tint: This is the accent color throughout the Messages app (i.e. the Compose New Message icon at the top right and Edit at the top left).
- Gradients: This makes more recent messages in conversation view darker and older ones lighter.
- Show Message Tails: This shows or removes the little tail under each message (the thing that makes them look like speech bubbles).
- Show Contact Pictures: This adds the contact’s picture to the conversation .
- Wide Message Bubbles: This makes the message bubbles able to extend further to the left or right than normal.
