[Due for payment 2025-06-11] [$250] [Performance] Reduce drawDistance for improving render time of EmojiPicker

[kubabutkiewicz]

Proposal:

Optimize emoji picker rendering to improve mobile app responsiveness

Problem:

When users tap to open the emoji picker, it takes 750ms (on emulator, on real device it take around 3s) to render, which creates a noticeable delay that interrupts the messaging flow and makes the app feel sluggish.

Solution:

Reduce the FlashList drawDistance parameter from 250 to 100. This optimization will decrease the number of emoji elements rendered off-screen during initial load, reducing render time by approximately 200ms (from 750ms to ~550ms on emulator) and ~700ms on real device. The change maintains virtually identical user experience during scrolling while significantly improving the initial opening performance.

Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021928112193387934775
• Upwork Job ID: 1928112193387934775
• Last Price Increase: 2025-05-29

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @laurenreidexpensify

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @kubabutkiewicz

[AQIB-NAWAB]

Proposal

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

improve the render time of the EmojiPicker

What is the root cause of that problem?

As mentioned in solution above it's EMOJI_DRAW_AMOUNT

App/src/CONST.ts

Lines 1883 to 1884 in 3372322

	// Amount of emojis to render ahead at the end of the update cycle
	EMOJI_DRAW_AMOUNT: 250,

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

According to mentioned solution in problem description we need to update the value from 250 to 100.

EMOJI_DRAW_AMOUNT: 100

What specific scenarios should we cover in automated tests to prevent reintroducing this issue in the future?

N/A

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

N/A
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.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021928112193387934775

[melvin-bot]

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