[Session Replay / iOS] Blank screen after first navigation — recording works only on initial screen

[chung-clearstreet]

Describe the issue

iOS Session Replay records the first screen correctly (sign-in), but every screen after the first navigation transition renders as a completely blank frame. Touches are still captured and appear in the replay, confirming the recording session is active, but no visual content is captured. The issue is iOS-only — Android records all screens correctly.

Screen.Recording.2026-09-05.at.12.17.29.AM.mov

Reproduction steps

// Initialize Datadog (called once at app startup)
await DdSdkReactNative.initialize(ddConfig);
await SessionReplay.enable({
  replaySampleRate: 100,
  textAndInputPrivacyLevel: TextAndInputPrivacyLevel.MASK_SENSITIVE_INPUTS,
  imagePrivacyLevel: ImagePrivacyLevel.MASK_NONE,
  touchPrivacyLevel: TouchPrivacyLevel.SHOW,
});

Steps:

1. Launch app on iOS — the initial screen (sign-in) appears correctly in the replay.
2. Navigate to any subsequent screen (e.g. sign-up / onboarding / authenticated home).
3. In Datadog RUM → Session Replay, all screens after step 1 are blank. Tap gestures are visible, no visual content.

The app uses Expo Router (React Navigation under the hood, native stack on iOS). Navigation is from a sign-in screen to an (onboarding) or (authenticated) stack group.

SDK logs

No errors or warnings logged from the Datadog SDK during or after navigation. The bridge calls complete silently.

Device Information

• iOS 17 / 18
• Not reproducible on Android (all screens record correctly)

SDK version

SDK version: @datadog/mobile-react-native-session-replay: 3.7.0 / @datadog/mobile-react-native: 3.7.0

Integration Methods

NPM

React Native Version

No response

Package.json Contents

Package.json Contents:
{
"@datadog/mobile-react-native": "3.7.0",
"@datadog/mobile-react-native-session-replay": "3.7.0"
}

iOS Setup

require File.join(File.dirname(`node --print "require.resolve('expo/package.json')"`), "scripts/autolinking")
require File.join(File.dirname(`node --print "require.resolve('react-native/package.json')"`), "scripts/react_native_pods")

require 'json'
podfile_properties = JSON.parse(File.read(File.join(__dir__, 'Podfile.properties.json'))) rescue {}

def ccache_enabled?(podfile_properties)
  # Environment variable takes precedence
  return ENV['USE_CCACHE'] == '1' if ENV['USE_CCACHE']
  
  # Fall back to Podfile properties
  podfile_properties['apple.ccacheEnabled'] == 'true'
end

ENV['RCT_NEW_ARCH_ENABLED'] ||= '0' if podfile_properties['newArchEnabled'] == 'false'
ENV['EX_DEV_CLIENT_NETWORK_INSPECTOR'] ||= podfile_properties['EX_DEV_CLIENT_NETWORK_INSPECTOR']
ENV['RCT_USE_RN_DEP'] ||= '1' if podfile_properties['ios.buildReactNativeFromSource'] != 'true' && podfile_properties['newArchEnabled'] != 'false'
ENV['RCT_USE_PREBUILT_RNCORE'] ||= '1' if podfile_properties['ios.buildReactNativeFromSource'] != 'true' && podfile_properties['newArchEnabled'] != 'false'
platform :ios, podfile_properties['ios.deploymentTarget'] || '15.1'

prepare_react_native_project!

target 'ClearStreetDev' do
# @generated begin AppsFlyer Strict Mode - expo prebuild (DO NOT MODIFY) sync-b29372208dd0dbd1274e957795cd756926086c3a
$RNAppsFlyerStrictMode=false
# @generated end AppsFlyer Strict Mode
  use_expo_modules!
# @generated begin AppsFlyer Purchase Connector - expo prebuild (DO NOT MODIFY) sync-40d043aa4472dc51990344aee6329be6fe164eba
$AppsFlyerPurchaseConnector=false
# @generated end AppsFlyer Purchase Connector

  if ENV['EXPO_USE_COMMUNITY_AUTOLINKING'] == '1'
    config_command = ['node', '-e', "process.argv=['', '', 'config'];require('@react-native-community/cli').run()"];
  else
    config_command = [
      'npx',
      'expo-modules-autolinking',
      'react-native-config',
      '--json',
      '--platform',
      'ios'
    ]
  end

  config = use_native_modules!(config_command)

  use_frameworks! :linkage => podfile_properties['ios.useFrameworks'].to_sym if podfile_properties['ios.useFrameworks']
  use_frameworks! :linkage => ENV['USE_FRAMEWORKS'].to_sym if ENV['USE_FRAMEWORKS']

  use_react_native!(
    :path => config[:reactNativePath],
    :hermes_enabled => podfile_properties['expo.jsEngine'] == nil || podfile_properties['expo.jsEngine'] == 'hermes',
    # An absolute path to your application root.
    :app_path => "#{Pod::Config.instance.installation_root}/..",
    :privacy_file_aggregation_enabled => podfile_properties['apple.privacyManifestAggregationEnabled'] != 'false',
  )

  post_install do |installer|
    react_native_post_install(
      installer,
      config[:reactNativePath],
      :mac_catalyst_enabled => false,
      :ccache_enabled => ccache_enabled?(podfile_properties),
    )
  end
end

Android Setup

N/A — issue is iOS only.

Other relevant information

• The app uses Expo Router with nested Stack navigators ((onboarding) and (authenticated) route groups).
• Several onboarding screens render a WebView (react-native-webview) for identity verification and legal agreements.
• The blank-screen behavior begins immediately on the first navigation away from the initial screen, before any WebView is encountered, so WebView interaction is not a prerequisite.
• Re-calling SessionReplay.enable() with the same config after each route change (via Expo Router's usePathname) does not restore visual capture.