Android - Reports - White screen flashes when Reports tab opens after submitting expense

[mitarachim]

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Version Number: 9.3.11-49
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: N/A - new feature, doesn't exist in prod
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #78965
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): hsshzjkssksksksksk@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Samsung Galaxy S25 FE / Android 16
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

Precondition:

• App is in dark mode.

1. Launch Expensify app.
2. Go to Workspaces tab.
3. Open FAB > Create expense > Manual.
4. Submit an expense to workspace chat.
5. Go to Workspaces tab.
6. Open FAB > Create expense > Manual.
7. Submit an expense to workspace chat.

Expected Result:

White screen will not flash when transitioning to Reports tab.

Actual Result:

White screen flashes briefly when transitioning to Reports tab.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7067432_1770241140754.Screen_Recording_20260205_053524_Expensify.mp4

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[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #78965

[melvin-bot]

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

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @JmillsExpensify (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: #78965 - "Fix/77987 - Standardize product behavior using "Global Create"" by @dmkt9 (High confidence)
Related Issues: None

Recommendation: REVERT

PR #78965 changed the navigation behavior after expense creation. When creating an expense from the global create button (FAB) outside of the Inbox tab, it now:

1. Dismisses the modal via Navigation.dismissModal()
2. Navigates to the search route via Navigation.setNavigationActionToMicrotaskQueue()

This two-step navigation introduces a brief white screen flash between dismissing the modal and navigating to the Reports tab, which is especially noticeable in dark mode on Android.

Labels: Keeping DeployBlockerCash (App PR caused the issue). Removing DeployBlocker (no backend changes needed).

📋 Detailed Analysis

Evidence

• The issue is reproducible on staging (v9.3.11-49) where PR Fix/77987 - Standardize product behavior using "Global Create" #78965 is included
• The issue is marked as "N/A - new feature, doesnt exist in prod" confirming it was introduced in staging
• Melvin-bot automatically assigned this issue to the PR author because it identified Fix/77987 - Standardize product behavior using "Global Create" #78965 as the likely cause
• The bug only occurs after submitting an expense via the FAB, which is exactly what PR Fix/77987 - Standardize product behavior using "Global Create" #78965 modified

Verification

PR #78965 modifies the following files related to navigation after expense creation:

• src/libs/actions/IOU/index.ts - Added handleNavigateAfterExpenseCreate() function
• src/libs/actions/IOU/SendInvoice.ts - Updated to use the new navigation function
• Multiple IOU creation flows now use this standardized navigation

The key change is in handleNavigateAfterExpenseCreate() (lines 1094-1132 of src/libs/actions/IOU/index.ts):

const queryString = buildCannedSearchQuery({type});
Navigation.dismissModal();
Navigation.setNavigationActionToMicrotaskQueue(() => {
    Navigation.navigate(ROUTES.SEARCH_ROOT.getRoute({query: queryString}));
});

This replaces the previous behavior which used dismissModalAndOpenReportInInboxTab() that handled navigation in a single step without the intermediate white flash.

Root Cause

The white screen flash occurs because:

1. Navigation.dismissModal() clears the current screen
2. There is a brief moment before setNavigationActionToMicrotaskQueue executes the navigation
3. During this gap, the default background (white) is visible
4. On Android with dark mode, this white flash is particularly jarring against the dark theme