[$250] Status- Emoji automatically changes after typing a message

[lanitochka17]

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Version Number: 9.2.89-1
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/2241336/test-runs/TR-2524/folder/13646991/41909068/1090144100
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): mootuswami698@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Device used: Windows 11/Chrome

Action Performed:

1. Open expensity website
2. Click on account icon
3. Click on status. [Emoji at the top]
4. Type any message. [Do not change emoji]
5. Press save.

Expected Result:

The emoji should not change

Actual Result:

Emoji automatically changes

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7035767_1766467407350.bandicam_2025-12-23_10-49-19-726.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022006652235390119400
• Upwork Job ID: 2006652235390119400
• Last Price Increase: 2026-01-01

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @aimane-chnaif

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @bfitzexpensify (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.

[abbasifaizan70]

Proposal

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

When a user sets a status message without selecting an emoji, the system automatically assigns the '💬' (message/speech bubble) emoji instead of allowing no emoji or preserving the user's existing emoji.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The root cause is in the updateStatus function in StatusPage.tsx where the emoji fallback logic forces the '💬' emoji when there's status text but no explicit emoji selection:

App/src/pages/settings/Profile/CustomStatus/StatusPage.tsx

Line 130 in 328e789

emojiCode: !emojiCode && statusText ? initialEmoji : emojiCode,

const initialEmoji = '💬';

// In updateStatus callback:
updateCustomStatus({
    text: statusText,
    emojiCode: !emojiCode && statusText ? initialEmoji : emojiCode,
    clearAfter: clearAfterTime !== CONST.CUSTOM_STATUS_TYPES.NEVER ? clearAfterTime : '',
});

The condition !emojiCode && statusText ? initialEmoji : emojiCode evaluates as:

• If emojiCode is falsy (empty/undefined) AND statusText exists → force initialEmoji ('💬')
• Otherwise → use emojiCode

This is problematic because:

1. The form's emojiCode can be empty even when the user has an existing emoji set (due to form initialization timing)
2. The user's current emoji (currentUserEmojiCode) is ignored in the fallback logic
3. Users cannot set a status message without an emoji being auto-assigned

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

1. Fix the emoji fallback logic in updateStatus

Remove the forced initialEmoji assignment and instead cascade through available emoji values, preserving the user's existing emoji:

App/src/pages/settings/Profile/CustomStatus/StatusPage.tsx

Lines 116 to 140 in 328e789

	const updateStatus = useCallback(
	({emojiCode, statusText}: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.SETTINGS_STATUS_SET_FORM>) => {
	if (navigateBackToPreviousScreenTask.current) {
	return;
	}
	// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/prefer-nullish-coalescing
	const clearAfterTime = draftClearAfter || currentUserClearAfter || CONST.CUSTOM_STATUS_TYPES.NEVER;
	const isValid = DateUtils.isTimeAtLeastOneMinuteInFuture({dateTimeString: clearAfterTime});
	if (!isValid && clearAfterTime !== CONST.CUSTOM_STATUS_TYPES.NEVER) {
	setBrickRoadIndicator(isValidClearAfterDate() ? undefined : CONST.BRICK_ROAD_INDICATOR_STATUS.ERROR);
	return;
	}
	updateCustomStatus({
	text: statusText,
	emojiCode: !emojiCode && statusText ? initialEmoji : emojiCode,
	clearAfter: clearAfterTime !== CONST.CUSTOM_STATUS_TYPES.NEVER ? clearAfterTime : '',
	});
	// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-deprecated
	navigateBackToPreviousScreenTask.current = InteractionManager.runAfterInteractions(() => {
	clearDraftCustomStatus();
	navigateBackToPreviousScreen();
	});
	},
	[currentUserClearAfter, draftClearAfter, isValidClearAfterDate, navigateBackToPreviousScreen],
	);

Before:

const initialEmoji = '💬';

const updateStatus = useCallback(
    ({emojiCode, statusText}: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.SETTINGS_STATUS_SET_FORM>) => {
        // ...
        updateCustomStatus({
            text: statusText,
            emojiCode: !emojiCode && statusText ? initialEmoji : emojiCode,
            clearAfter: clearAfterTime !== CONST.CUSTOM_STATUS_TYPES.NEVER ? clearAfterTime : '',
        });
        // ...
    },
    [currentUserClearAfter, draftClearAfter, isValidClearAfterDate, navigateBackToPreviousScreen],
);

After:

const updateStatus = useCallback(
    ({emojiCode, statusText}: FormOnyxValues<typeof ONYXKEYS.FORMS.SETTINGS_STATUS_SET_FORM>) => {
        // ...
        // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/prefer-nullish-coalescing
        const finalEmojiCode = emojiCode || currentUserEmojiCode || '';
        updateCustomStatus({
            text: statusText,
            emojiCode: finalEmojiCode,
            clearAfter: clearAfterTime !== CONST.CUSTOM_STATUS_TYPES.NEVER ? clearAfterTime : '',
        });
        // ...
    },
    [currentUserClearAfter, currentUserEmojiCode, draftClearAfter, isValidClearAfterDate, navigateBackToPreviousScreen],
);

2. Remove unused initialEmoji constant

Since the '💬' emoji is no longer auto-assigned, remove the unused constant:

App/src/pages/settings/Profile/CustomStatus/StatusPage.tsx

Line 39 in 328e789

const initialEmoji = '💬';

Before:

const initialEmoji = '💬';

function StatusPage() {

After:

function StatusPage() {

3. Add currentUserEmojiCode to dependencies

Add currentUserEmojiCode to the useCallback dependencies to ensure the callback uses the latest value:

[currentUserClearAfter, currentUserEmojiCode, draftClearAfter, isValidClearAfterDate, navigateBackToPreviousScreen]

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

None

Demo

Screen.Recording.2025-12-31.at.5.34.49.AM.mov

[rohit9625]

This doesn't seems like an issue to me as the current behavior was discusses by the design team in this issue #33735 and related PR #34780. Specifically this comment states that

message only -> comment bubble emoji forced

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022006652235390119400

[melvin-bot]

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