React Native Pitfalls to Avoid in Production

Most production issues aren’t missing features,they’re avoidable mistakes. Here are the pitfalls I see most often and the fixes that have worked across my projects.

1) Overloading the JavaScript thread

Heavy compute (image processing, big JSON parsing) on the JS thread blocks touch handling and UI updates, causing jank.

• Move heavy tasks to native modules or background workers.
• Prefer react-native-reanimated for animations (runs on native/UI thread).
• Defer non-critical work; schedule after interactions.

In a voice assistant app, shifting audio encoding to native eliminated UI freezes on low-end devices.

2) Misusing FlatList

FlatList “just scrolling” is a myth,poor setup leads to lag and crashes.

• Provide stable keyExtractor.
• Use getItemLayout when rows are fixed height.
• Memoize row components; avoid inline functions inside renderItem.

After applying these in a marketplace list of 100s of items, scroll stutter dropped noticeably on mid-tier phones.

3) Forgetting to clean up listeners

Keyboard/AppState/sockets without cleanup leak memory and create odd behavior.

• Always return a cleanup function in useEffect.
• Unsubscribe global listeners on unmount.

4) Shipping debug logs to production

console.log adds JS-thread overhead in prod.

• Strip logs with babel-plugin-transform-remove-console in production builds.
• Remove dev-only code paths before release.

5) Staying on the legacy bridge

Ignoring JSI/TurboModules/Fabric keeps latency high and limits modern libraries.

• Prefer libraries compatible with the New Architecture.
• Migrate hot paths (heavy animations, data-heavy screens) first; test cross-platform.

6) Inconsistent styling and excessive inline styles

Inline objects are recreated every render; scattered styles hurt consistency.

• Use StyleSheet.create().
• Centralize theme tokens (colors, spacing, fonts).
• Adopt a design system or theming library.

7) State management that triggers wide re-renders

Putting everything in global state or lifting too high causes unnecessary updates.

• Keep state local where possible; split UI into smaller memoized parts.
• Use useMemo, useCallback, and React.memo deliberately.
• Choose state tools (Redux, Zustand, Jotai) based on change patterns,not habit.

8) Ignoring platform differences

Android/iOS differ in keyboard, gestures, back behavior, safe areas, and UI norms.

• Test on both platforms frequently.
• Use Platform.select() for small divergences and platform-specific files when needed.

Closing thoughts

Production quality comes from discipline: protect the JS thread, configure lists correctly, clean up subscriptions, adopt the new architecture, keep styles consistent, manage state surgically, and respect platform differences. Spot the worst offender in your app and fix it first,compounding gains follow.