[$250] Group chat - Missing group chat, no "Search in" option in search router

[jponikarchuk]

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: v9.3.65-6
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #87796
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): nosjdinjisoijosj@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Mac 26.2 / Chrome
App Component: Search

Action Performed:

1. Go to staging.new.expensify.com
2. Create a group chat.
3. Open the group chat.
4. Click Search.

Expected Result:

• The created group chat will appear in search list.
• "Search in" option will be shown in the search router.

Actual Result:

• The created group chat does not appear in search list.
• "Search in" option is missing in the search router.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Video.mp4

View all open jobs on GitHub

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @ShridharGoel

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~022051549839690770866
• Upwork Job ID: 2051549839690770866
• Last Price Increase: 2026-05-05

[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #87796

[melvin-bot]

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

[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: #87796 - "Filter hidden rooms from search router after leaving" by @MelvinBot (High confidence)
Related Issues: #87661

Recommendation: REVERT

PR #87796 introduced overly broad filtering logic that incorrectly removes group chats from search results. The fix is scoped entirely to the App repository, and the PR can be cleanly reverted.

Assigned: @MelvinBot (PR author), @ShridharGoel, @cead22 (approving reviewers)
Labels: DeployBlockerCash kept (frontend bug in App). DeployBlocker not present, no change needed.

Detailed Analysis

Evidence

The issue reports that group chats do not appear in the search router or search list, and the "Search in" option is missing. This is staging-only (not reproducible in production), pointing to a recent staging PR as the cause. The melvin-bot already flagged PR #87796 as the responsible PR based on timing.

PR #87796 changed the excludeHiddenThreads option in getValidOptions (src/libs/OptionsListUtils/index.ts) to a broader excludeHidden option that now filters non-thread reports (workspace rooms, group chats, DMs, etc.) as well as threads.

The new filtering block (lines 2512–2528 of src/libs/OptionsListUtils/index.ts) reads:

if (excludeHidden) {
  if (
    report.isThread &&
    report.notificationPreference ===
      CONST.REPORT.NOTIFICATION_PREFERENCE.HIDDEN
  ) {
    return false;
  }
  if (
    !report.isThread &&
    report.item?.chatType !== CONST.REPORT.CHAT_TYPE.SELF_DM &&
    report.item?.chatType !== CONST.REPORT.CHAT_TYPE.POLICY_ADMINS &&
    !report.private_isArchived
  ) {
    const participant = report.item?.participants?.[currentUserAccountID];
    if (
      participant &&
      isHiddenForCurrentUser(participant.notificationPreference)
    ) {
      return false;
    }
  }
}

Group chats (chatType = CONST.REPORT.CHAT_TYPE.GROUP) are non-thread reports not excluded by the SELF_DM or POLICY_ADMINS guards. The current user IS a participant in their own group chats, so participant is truthy. The bug is that isHiddenForCurrentUser in src/libs/ReportUtils.ts returns true not only for HIDDEN preference but also when notificationPreference is undefined, null, or empty string:

if (
  reportOrPreference === undefined ||
  reportOrPreference === null ||
  reportOrPreference === ""
) {
  return true;
}

For group chats stored on the server (as opposed to freshly created optimistic ones), participants often have no notificationPreference field or have it set to undefined. This causes isHiddenForCurrentUser(undefined) to return true, and the group chat is filtered out of search.

The SearchRouter.tsx change introduces a second filtering path: isHiddenForCurrentUser(contextualReport) which passes the full report object. For a group chat without a notificationPreference at the report level, this also evaluates to true, causing the "Search in" contextual option to disappear.

Verification

• Affected files: src/libs/OptionsListUtils/index.ts, src/components/Search/SearchRouter/SearchRouter.tsx, src/libs/OptionsListUtils/types.ts
• PR modifies these exact files: Confirmed via gh pr view 87796 --json files
• Merge date: April 29, 2026 — aligns with the staging-only regression in v9.3.65-6
• isHiddenForCurrentUser at src/libs/ReportUtils.ts lines 2230–2233 explicitly treats undefined preference as hidden

Root Cause

isHiddenForCurrentUser treats a notificationPreference of undefined as equivalent to HIDDEN. Group chat participants fetched from the server frequently have no explicit notificationPreference set on their participant entry. PR #87796 added a check that evaluates isHiddenForCurrentUser(participant.notificationPreference) for all non-thread, non-SELF_DM, non-POLICY_ADMINS reports — a category that includes group chats. Because group chat participants often lack an explicit notificationPreference, this check incorrectly returns true and filters them out of search results entirely.