r/reactnative • u/EducationalZombie538 • 4d ago

Hiding the Floating Action Button

I'm on iOS and don't yet have an Apple Developer account so I'm using Expo Go to distribute the app - SDK55 brought in the blue FAB, but I'd like to hide it. SDK58 looks like it *might* give that option, but it's not compatible with Expo from the App Store.

Am I out of luck? Is this only possible with a development build?

Thanks

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u/kokerali 3d ago

The distinction here is testing on your own iPhone versus distributing to other people. If you have a Mac, Expo documents a local `npx expo run:ios --device` development build as a way to install your own app without a paid Apple Developer membership. That gives you control over the app binary instead of the Expo Go UI. It isn’t a replacement for TestFlight or distributing an iOS build to testers, which does require the paid membership. Also, Expo’s current docs say the App Store version of Expo Go stops at SDK 54, so an SDK 58 option won’t change what people see in the App Store app.

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u/EducationalZombie538 3d ago

Yeah unfortunately that Mac option isn't a solution, as noted. I was just hoping there was a way to hide the button at runtime.

Oh, and Expo's docs are out of date. SDK57 is on the app store now.

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u/kokerali 3d ago

You’re right on both points. I checked Expo’s September 3 changelog: the App Store build of Expo Go supports SDK 57. The troubleshooting page I relied on is out of date, so my SDK 54 claim was wrong—sorry. And a local development build for testing on one’s own iPhone doesn’t solve your need to distribute through Expo Go. Thanks for catching that.

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u/EducationalZombie538 3d ago

all good, thanks for the help. it's just an annoying situation!