Distance - App proceeds to participant list when GPS Start and Stop point are the same

[jponikarchuk]

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Version Number: 9.3.9-1
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #79914
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): applausetester+ddd1212@applause.expensifail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: iPhone 15 Pro Max / iOS 26.1
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

Precondition:

• Log in with Expensifail account.

1. Launch Expensify app.
2. Open FAB > Track distance > GPS.
3. Tap Start.
4. Tap Stop.
5. Tap Stop GPS tracking.
6. Tap Next.

Expected Result:

User should not be allowed to proceed when Start and Stop point are the same.

Actual Result:

App proceeds to participant list when GPS Start and Stop point are the same.
On iOS, user cannot dismiss keyboard on participant page because of "Can't create expense" modal hidden behind the keyboard.

On Android, user can proceed to create the distance expense with the same GPS start and stop point, then error shows up on the expense.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

1.mp4

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[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #79914

[melvin-bot]

💬 A slack conversation has been started in #expensify-open-source

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @dylanexpensify (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details. Please add this bug to a GH project, as outlined in the SO.

[github-actions]

👋 Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

1. Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
2. Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
3. Fix the issue yourself.

[OSBotify]

🔍 Investigation Summary

Classification: Frontend bug
Causing PR: #79914 - "Create GPS expenses using captured data" by @GCyganek (High confidence)
Related Issues: None

Recommendation: REVERT

PR #79914 introduced a critical validation bug that allows users to create GPS distance expenses with zero distance (when start and stop points are the same). The validation modal is shown but does not prevent proceeding, leading to the reported issues on iOS (keyboard dismissal problems) and Android (error after expense creation).

Labels: Keeping DeployBlockerCash label (App deploy blocker) - this is a frontend bug that requires reverting the App PR.

📋 Detailed Analysis

Evidence

The issue was first reported on staging with version 9.3.9-1, and PR #79914 was explicitly linked in the deploy checklist as an unchecked PR. The bug manifests when:

1. User starts GPS tracking
2. Immediately stops without moving (start and stop points are the same)
3. Taps "Next"
4. App proceeds to participant list instead of blocking the flow

Verification

I examined the files modified in PR #79914 and found the root cause in:

• File: src/pages/iou/request/step/IOURequestStepDistanceGPS/GPSButtons/index.tsx
• Lines 90-96: The onNext() function

const onNext = () => {
    if (gpsDraftDetails?.distanceInMeters === 0) {
        setShowZeroDistanceModal(true);
    }

    navigateToNextStep();
};

Root Cause

The validation logic shows a zero distance modal when distanceInMeters === 0, but unconditionally calls navigateToNextStep() immediately after. This allows the flow to proceed even when the distance is zero.

The correct implementation should only navigate if the distance is greater than zero:

const onNext = () => {
    if (gpsDraftDetails?.distanceInMeters === 0) {
        setShowZeroDistanceModal(true);
        return; // Missing this line!
    }

    navigateToNextStep();
};

This bug affects both iOS and Android platforms:

• iOS: The "Can't create expense" modal appears behind the keyboard, preventing dismissal
• Android: User can create the expense, but an error shows up afterward

The PR added the zero-distance validation modal but failed to prevent navigation when validation fails.

[GCyganek]

Is it a deploy blocker if the GPS is hidden behind the beta? I'm on it and will try to fix it ASAP