[Payment due 2025-10-07] [$250] When trying to share a link via iOS , app opens with "Invalid File Type" error

[m-natarajan]

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Version Number: 9.1.95-0
Reproducible in staging?: Y
Reproducible in production?: Y
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail:
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):
Logs: https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/4856
Expensify/Expensify Issue URL:
Issue reported by: @mallenexpensify
Slack conversation (hyperlinked to channel name): #Expensify Bugs

Action Performed:

Tap to share a link from notes in iOS device
Select Expensify

Expected Result:

App to open and to be able to share link

Actual Result:

App opens and "Invalid File Type" error shows

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Select the officially supported platforms where the issue was reproduced:

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

Platforms Tested:

On which of our officially supported platforms was this issue tested:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Add any screenshot/video evidence

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Upwork Automation - Do Not Edit

• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021958191080596776218
• Upwork Job ID: 1958191080596776218
• Last Price Increase: 2025-08-20

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @zfurtak

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @sakluger (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.

[linhvovan29546]

Proposal

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

When trying to share a link via iOS , app opens with "Invalid File Type" error

What is the root cause of that problem?

The error is thrown here when share a link and the type is 'application/octet-stream'.

App/src/pages/Share/ShareRootPage.tsx

Lines 61 to 65 in eb438cf

	if (!tempFile?.mimeType || !shareFileMimeTypes.includes(tempFile?.mimeType)) {
	setErrorTitle(translate('attachmentPicker.wrongFileType'));
	setErrorMessage(translate('attachmentPicker.notAllowedExtension'));
	return;
	}

We handle share url here
https://github.com/Expensify/Mobile-Expensify/blob/80d9172f68347c7413f8acd26322906506cac5a4/iOS/Expensify/RCTShareActionHandlerModule.m#L73-L80

This works as expected on the standalone app but not on the hybrid app, because on the Hybrid app, isTextToReadFromFile is false when share a link.
The root cause is a difference in URL detection logic between the Standalone app and Hydrid app ShareViewController implementations:

1. Hybrid ShareViewController uses a approach that cycles through multiple supported types (kUTTypePDF, kUTTypePlainText, kUTTypeMP3, etc.) and selects the first matching type. This approach fails to properly distinguish URLs from other text content.
   https://github.com/Expensify/Mobile-Expensify/blob/80d9172f68347c7413f8acd26322906506cac5a4/iOS/SmartScanExtension/ShareViewController.swift#L124-L136
2. Standalone ShareViewController uses specific URL detection logic that explicitly checks for "public.url" type identifier while excluding "public.file-url", ensuring URLs are handled with the correct type identifier (kUTTypeURL).
   

   App/ios/ShareViewController/ShareViewController.swift

   Lines 113 to 116 in eb438cf

   	let isURL = attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier("public.url") && !attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier("public.file-url")
   	let typeIdentifier = isURL ? (kUTTypeURL as String) : (kUTTypeData as String)
   	attachment.loadItem(forTypeIdentifier: typeIdentifier, options: nil) { (data, error) in

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

We can keep the original logic but enhance it to support URL
https://github.com/Expensify/Mobile-Expensify/blob/80d9172f68347c7413f8acd26322906506cac5a4/iOS/SmartScanExtension/ShareViewController.swift#L123

private func loadData(for attachment: NSItemProvider, in folder: URL, group: DispatchGroup, completion: @escaping (FileSaveError?) -> Void) {
        let supportedTypes = [kUTTypeURL, kUTTypePDF, kUTTypePlainText, kUTTypeMP3, kUTTypeMPEG4, kUTTypeData] as [String]

        // Check specifically for URLs first (excluding file URLs)
        let isURL = attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier("public.url") && !attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier("public.file-url")
        
        let typeIdentifier: String
        if isURL {
            typeIdentifier = kUTTypeURL as String
        } else {
            // Use original logic for non-URLs
            guard let chosenType = supportedTypes.first(where: { attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier($0) }) else {
                completion(.CouldNotLoad)
                return
            }
            typeIdentifier = chosenType
        }

        attachment.loadItem(forTypeIdentifier: typeIdentifier, options: nil) { (data, error) in
            DispatchQueue.main.async {
                if let error = error {
                    print("[ShareViewController] Error loading item: \(error)")
                    completion(.CouldNotLoad)
                    return
                }

                guard let data = data else {
                    print("[ShareViewController] Data is nil")
                    completion(.CouldNotLoad)
                    return
                }
                
                if isURL, let url = data as? URL {
                    self.handleURL(url, folder: folder, completion: completion)
                } else {
                    self.handleData(data, folder: folder, completion: completion)
                }
            }
        }
    }

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

None

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

We can update the logic in the Hybrid app to same as Standalone app
https://github.com/Expensify/Mobile-Expensify/blob/80d9172f68347c7413f8acd26322906506cac5a4/iOS/SmartScanExtension/ShareViewController.swift#L123

 private func loadData(for attachment: NSItemProvider, in folder: URL, group: DispatchGroup, completion: @escaping (FileSaveError?) -> Void) {
        let isURL = attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier("public.url") && !attachment.hasItemConformingToTypeIdentifier("public.file-url")
        let typeIdentifier = isURL ? (kUTTypeURL as String) : (kUTTypeData as String)
        attachment.loadItem(forTypeIdentifier: typeIdentifier, options: nil) { (data, error) in
            DispatchQueue.main.async {
                if let error = error {
                    print("[ShareViewController] Error loading item: \(error)")
                    completion(.CouldNotLoad)
                    return
                }

                guard let data = data else {
                    print("[ShareViewController] Data is nil for typeIdentifier: \(typeIdentifier)")
                    completion(.CouldNotLoad)
                    return
                }
                
                if isURL, let url = data as? URL {
                    self.handleURL(url, folder: folder, completion: completion)
                } else {
                    self.handleData(data, folder: folder, completion: completion)
                }
            }
        }
    }

[sakluger]

I posted in the original Slack thread to see if we should solicit external proposals.

[sakluger]

Lets make this external.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~021958191080596776218