Expense - Description hint is displayed for expenses created on Self DM.

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Version Number: 9.4.84-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: N/A - new feature, doesn't exist in prod
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: #101072
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): ibellicotest+2766@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Exploratory - Significant User Experience Deterioration
Device used: Motorola MotoG60 / Android 12 (Hybrid app) - Windows 11 / Chrome
App Component: Money Requests

Action Performed:

Prerequisite: User is owner of a "Control" workspace.
Prerequisite 2: "Categories" and "Rules" enabled.
Prerequisite 3: Account has Self DM.

1. Open the staging.new.expensify.com website.
2. Navigate to "Workspaces" > Workspace > "Categories"
3. Click on "Advertising" > "Description Hint"
4. Create a description hint and save it.
5. Navigate to Self DM.
6. Click on "+" > "Create Expense" > "Manual"
7. During expense creation, select "Advertising" as category.
8. Note that created hint is displayed below "Description" field, despite expense not being created on workspace chat.

Expected Result:

Description hint should only be visible when creating expenses on workspace chat.

Actual Result:

Description hint is visible while creating an expense on Self DM.

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

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

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7262880_1789699637533.Hint.mp4

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Applause Internal Information
Exported by: Mita Rachim
Bug ID: 7262880

Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @Ollyws

[applause-bot]

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[melvin-bot]

You have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you recently merged this PR: #101072

[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.

[melvin-bot]

@mountiny @Ollyws you have been assigned to this deploy blocker because you reviewed the offending PR: #101072

[melvin-bot]

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

[MelvinBot]

Proposal

Offending PR: Show the category description hint on the expense creation description field — merged 2026-09-17, merge commit 6ecad68. It's the only PR in the last week touching DescriptionField.tsx, and it's the PR that added the hint to the creation screen, which matches "not reproducible in production".

What is the root cause of that problem?

The new hint is gated only on "a category is selected" — it never checks whether the expense is actually going to a workspace chat.

src/components/MoneyRequestConfirmationList/sections/DescriptionField.tsx:58

const descriptionHint = categoryState?.category ? (policyCategories?.[categoryState.category]?.commentHint ?? '') : '';

In a Self DM, policy is intentionally the user's default workspace, not "no workspace" — usePolicyForTransaction.ts:56-60 falls back to the "moving expenses" policy for unreported/track expenses so the Category picker can offer that workspace's categories. The new code reads commentHint off that same policy, so the Control workspace's hint leaks into the Self DM.

The standalone description step gets this right — DynamicIOURequestStepDescription.tsx:74 keys categories off the route report's policyID, which is _FAKE_ in a Self DM, so no hint renders. PR 101072 claimed to mirror that behavior but keyed off a different policy.

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

Roll forward with a one-line gate. isPolicyExpenseChat and isTypeInvoice are already on the confirmation context that this component consumes (context.ts:28-35), so no prop threading is needed:

1. Destructure isPolicyExpenseChat and isTypeInvoice from useConfirmationFields() at DescriptionField.tsx:42, and require one of them to be true before computing descriptionHint on line 58. This mirrors the gate shouldShowCategories already uses at MoneyRequestConfirmationList.tsx:292-294. isPolicyExpenseChat is participant-aware, so it stays true when a workspace chat is picked from the "To" field even though the route report is still the Self DM.
2. Fix the unit test, which currently encodes the bug: DescriptionField.test.tsx:39-52 renders with isPolicyExpenseChat defaulting to false and still asserts the hint appears. Add a regression case asserting no hint when it's false.

What alternative solutions did you explore?

git revert 6ecad68f7a5216df9bd823f4ae84655fb0e0fd2d is clean — 2 files, no dependents. It only reopens [CFI] Description hint is not displayed in the description field.. Take this if you want zero risk over keeping the feature in this deploy.

Scope and supporting detail

Not Self-DM-only. Any confirmation where the transaction is unreported/track and the destination isn't a workspace chat will show the default workspace's hint.

DescriptionField is also rendered by DistanceDetailsFields, TimeDetailsFields, and PerDiemFooter, all under the same provider, so the gate applies uniformly to those flows too.

Why the gate belongs here, not in the policy lookup: the default-workspace fallback in usePolicyForTransaction is deliberate — the Category picker depends on it. Changing that hook would break category selection in Self DM.

Evidence chain: hint renders at DescriptionField.tsx:126-127 → policy threaded in via ManualDetailsFields.tsx:59-62 → resolved at IOURequestStepConfirmation.tsx:210-221 → default-workspace fallback at usePolicyForMovingExpenses.ts:129-136.

I did not draft a code review rule for this. The pattern ("policy-derived value rendered without gating on the destination report") is real, but there's no mechanically detectable signal — a non-null policy is the normal case, and the correct gate differs per field.

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Next Steps for Contributor+ team:
To accept: @MelvinBot implement this proposal to create a draft PR.
To refine: @MelvinBot <your feedback>
To reject: Explain why you are rejecting Melvin's proposal.

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view run

[IuliiaHerets]

Issue is not reproducible on Web and Android, build v9.4.84-1

Screenrecorder-2026-09-18-13-17-42-31.mp4

REC-20260918131006.mp4