Personalize your Messages app however you want with the new ChatUI jailbreak tweak

Many iPhone users spend absorbent amounts of their time in the Messages app, and that’s not surprising given just how explosively popular text messaging has become over the years. Given that fact, it’s easy to see why someone might desire more customization options with respect to an app they use all the time.

Fortunately for jailbreakers, iOS developer CreatureSurvive is out with a new and free jailbreak tweak dubbed ChatUI that offers a smorgasbord of seemingly limitless customization for the native Messages app that comes pre-installed on iPhones and iPads alike.

ChatUI wouldn’t be the first jailbreak tweak we’ve featured on iDB that gives the Messages app a fresh coat of paint, but it certainly would be one of the most comprehensive of the sorts. The tweak offers colorization options for both dark and light mode independently of one another and includes a number of other odds and ends that will get users excited.

As you’ll notice in the screenshot examples above, ChatUI provides options for colorizing the chat bubbles in various ways, giving the Messages app a dedicated wallpaper, and so much more. Once installed, the tweak adds a dedicated preference pane to the Settings app where users can configure it to their liking:

Things you can do here include:

  • Toggle ChatUI on or off on demand
  • Set UI configurations for light mode
  • Set UI configurations for dark mode
  • Adjust global Messages app options

The configurations for light mode and dark mode are exactly the same with respect to the options they provide, however they can be configured independently so that your Messages app looks one way while using light mode and another way while using dark mode. Given that the options are identical, we’ll only go over them once to save your time and ours:

  • Choose between a dark or a light Status Bar style
  • Choose between a dark or a light keyboard style
  • Choose an interaction tint color
  • Enable or disable gradient colorization for conversation bubbles
    • Use random gradients
    • Adjust the gradient offset via a slider
    • Adjust the gradient saturation via a slider
    • Adjust the gradient brightness via a slider
  • Choose a conversation bubble background color (solid if not using a gradient)
  • Choose a cell sender label color
  • Choose a cell date label color
  • Choose a cell summary label color
  • Enable and select a conversation list background image from the Photo Library
  • Enable and select a conversation list background color (if not using an image)
  • Enable and select a chat background image from the Photo Library
  • Enable and select a chat background color (if not using an image)
  • Disable the Navigation Bar blur effect
  • Choose a custom Navigation Bar color
  • Choose a custom Navigation Bar title color
  • Choose a custom Navigation Bar button color
  • Choose a custom Navigation Bar badge text color
  • Enable gradient colorization for chat bubbles
    • Choose an incoming chat bubble color
    • Choose an iMessage bubble color
    • Choose an SMS bubble color
  • Choose an attachment bubble color
  • Enable or disable the chat bubble tails
  • Enable bubble borders only (removes background fill)
  • Make bubble corners square instead of round
  • Choose a color for incoming message text
  • Choose a color for iMessage text
  • Choose a color for SMS text
  • Choose a color for attachment text
  • Choose a color for incoming message links
  • Choose a color for incoming iMessage links
  • Choose a color for incoming SMS links
  • Choose a color for the iMessage send button
  • Choose a color for the SMS send button
  • Choose a color for the chat interface’s text entry field text
  • Choose a color for the chat interface’s text entry field background
  • Choose a color for the chat interface’s text entry field border
  • Choose a color for the chat interface’s text entry field cursor
  • Enable background blur for the chat interface’s text entry field
  • Enable and choose a background color for the chat interface’s text entry field
  • Choose a chat detail text color
  • Choose a chat typing dots color
  • Choose a chat app drawer background color
  • Choose a chat footer color
  • Choose a default contact name color
  • Choose an iMessage contact name color
  • Choose an SMS contact name color
  • Choose a typing indicator bubble color
  • Choose a typing indicator dot color
  • Choose a pinned conversation name label color
  • Choose a pinned conversation selection icon color
  • Disable the compose search bar blur
    • Choose a compose search bar color
  • Choose a compose background color
  • Choose a segmented control background color
  • Choose a reaction selection background color

And heading back to the primary preference pane, users will find a dedicated cell for global options, which encompass the following options:

  • Disable group avatars
  • Disable SMS send progress indicator
  • Disable the iMessage app drawer

As you’ll notice from the lengthy list of options above, ChatUI offers a comprehensive feature set for all kinds of jailbreakers, regardless of how they use their Messages app. Whether you’re trying to remove unwanted features, colorize the interface, or give it some background scenery with a background image, this tweak offers a little something for everyone.

Those needing a little more of a nudge will be happy to know that ChatUI is a completely free download from the CreatureCoding repository via any package manager of your choosing. The tweak supports jailbroken iOS 14 devices, and iOS 13 support is purportedly coming soon in a future update.

If you aren’t already using CreatureCoding’s repository, then you can add it to your package manager of choice with the following URL:

https://creaturecoding.com/repo/

Do you plan to customize your handset’s Messages app with the new ChatUI tweak? Let us know in the comments section down below.