[$250] Chat - After merging expenses, navigating back, leads to chat again.

[mitarachim]

If you haven’t already, check out our contributing guidelines for onboarding and email contributors@expensify.com to request to join our Slack channel!

---

Version Number: 9.3.7.0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://test-management.browserstack.com/projects/2219752/test-runs/TR-3292/folder/13176670/55373587/1143584220?q=merge&issue_type=jira
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): ibellicotest+2250@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Motorola MotoG60 / Android 12 (Hybrid app)
App Component: Other

Action Performed:

Prerequisite: Account has at least one workspace.

1. Open the Expensify app.
2. Open any workspace chat.
3. Create two manual expenses in two different reports.
4. Open the report of any of the just created expenses.
5. Tap on "More" > "Merge"
6. Select the second expense.
7. Keep all the details from the seconds expense and confirm the merging action.
8. Once redirected to chat again, tap on the arrow on the top left corner to return to "Inbox"
9. Note that you land on chat again.
10. Tap on the back button again.
11. Note that now you correctly land on "Inbox"

Expected Result:

When being redirected to chat after merging expenses, back button should redirect to "Inbox".

Actual Result:

When being redirected to chat after merging expenses, back button navigates to chat again.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7056061_1769127394547.Merge_Back.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022015901507255016520
• Upwork Job ID: 2015901507255016520
• Last Price Increase: 2026-03-24

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @Krishna2323

[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.

[annaweber830]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

When being redirected to chat after merging expenses, back button should redirect to "Inbox".

What is the root cause of that problem?

On narrow layouts, the merge flow uses Navigation.dismissModalWithReport(), which navigates by replacing the modal route with a report route instead of actually dismissing the modal first. This can leave the underlying Reports navigator state intact and results in two identical report/chat screens in the navigation stack, so the first back press appears to “go to chat again”.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Update dismissModalWithReport() so that on narrow layouts it:

• Dismisses the modal first, and
• Navigates to the target report only after the modal fully closes (using the modal close callback),
  so we don’t end up with duplicate report/chat routes in history and one back press correctly returns to Inbox.
  

  App/src/libs/Navigation/Navigation.ts

  Lines 690 to 693 in e54cfd4

  	if (getIsNarrowLayout()) {
  	navigate(reportRoute, {forceReplace: true});
  	return;
  	}

if (getIsNarrowLayout()) {
            dismissModal({
                ref,
                callback: () => navigate(reportRoute, {forceReplace: true}),
            });
            return;
        }

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

[shankys]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

When a user merges two expenses and is redirected back to a report/chat, the first back press returns to the same chat again instead of Inbox on Android (narrow layout / small screen/mobile). This makes the back stack feel like it has a duplicate chat entry.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The merge flow uses Navigation.dismissModalWithReport() after the merge when it needs to open a different report. In ConfirmationPage, this runs when reportID !== targetTransaction.reportID and the code calls Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss}).
See:

App/src/pages/TransactionMerge/ConfirmationPage.tsx

Lines 95 to 108 in 6e6f87c

	// If we're on search, dismiss the modal and stay on search
	if (!isOnSearch && reportIDToDismiss && reportID !== targetTransaction.reportID) {
	// Navigate to search money report screen if we're on Reports
	if (isSearchTopmostFullScreenRoute()) {
	// Close the current modal screen
	Navigation.dismissModal();
	// Ensure the dismiss completes first
	Navigation.setNavigationActionToMicrotaskQueue(() => {
	// Navigate to the money request report in search results
	Navigation.navigate(ROUTES.SEARCH_MONEY_REQUEST_REPORT.getRoute({reportID: reportIDToDismiss}));
	});
	} else {
	Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});
	}

On narrow layout (mobile/small‑screen), dismissModalWithReport does not dismiss the modal first; it directly calls navigate(reportRoute, {forceReplace: true}) while the right‑hand modal (RHP) is still the focused screen.
That replaces the focused modal route rather than the underlying report route, leaving two report/chat entries in history and requiring two back presses.
See:

App/src/libs/Navigation/Navigation.ts

Lines 730 to 733 in 6e6f87c

	const reportRoute = ROUTES.REPORT_WITH_ID.getRoute(reportID, reportActionID, referrer, backTo);
	if (getIsNarrowLayout()) {
	navigate(reportRoute, {forceReplace: true});
	return;

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

Make the merge flow dismiss the modal first and then replace the underlying report route once the modal is fully closed. This keeps only one report/chat entry in history.

Concretely in

App/src/pages/TransactionMerge/ConfirmationPage.tsx

Lines 95 to 108 in 6e6f87c

	// If we're on search, dismiss the modal and stay on search
	if (!isOnSearch && reportIDToDismiss && reportID !== targetTransaction.reportID) {
	// Navigate to search money report screen if we're on Reports
	if (isSearchTopmostFullScreenRoute()) {
	// Close the current modal screen
	Navigation.dismissModal();
	// Ensure the dismiss completes first
	Navigation.setNavigationActionToMicrotaskQueue(() => {
	// Navigate to the money request report in search results
	Navigation.navigate(ROUTES.SEARCH_MONEY_REQUEST_REPORT.getRoute({reportID: reportIDToDismiss}));
	});
	} else {
	Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});
	}

, in the non‑search path (the else block), add a narrow‑layout guard so that narrow layout uses dismissModal + navigate(..., {forceReplace: true}) and wide layout keeps dismissModalWithReport:

if (getIsNarrowLayout()) {
    Navigation.dismissModal({
        callback: () => Navigation.navigate(ROUTES.REPORT_WITH_ID.getRoute(reportIDToDismiss), {forceReplace: true}),
    });
} else {
    Navigation.dismissModalWithReport({reportID: reportIDToDismiss});
}

This keeps the change localized to the merge flow, which avoids altering global navigation behavior in other features.
The modal close callback fires when the RightModalNavigator unmounts (it emits MODAL_EVENTS.CLOSED), which ensures the replacement runs after the modal is dismissed.
See:

App/src/libs/Navigation/AppNavigator/Navigators/RightModalNavigator.tsx

Line 169 in 6e6f87c

useEffect(() => () => DeviceEventEmitter.emit(CONST.MODAL_EVENTS.CLOSED), []);

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Reminder: Please use plain English, be brief and avoid jargon. Feel free to use images, charts or pseudo-code if necessary. Do not post large multi-line diffs or write walls of text. Do not create PRs unless you have been hired for this job.

[truph01]

Regression from #78966

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022015901507255016520

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @Krishna2323 (External)