[bug][android] Scroll jumps to top when touching selectable text

[dlindstrm]

Description

The list unexpectedly scrolls back to the top when touching a text component with selectable prop on Android. It also happens when touching a react-native-webview.

Reproduction (Snack)

https://snack.expo.dev/@lindstrm/legendlist-android-bug?platform=android

A video from the example app showcasing the issue:
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/7ba04d05-af8b-40fe-a533-105c34cd124c

Environment

@legendapp/list: 2.0.18
react-native: 0.79.3 (also tested with 0.81)
expo: 53.0.11 (also tested with 54)

[dlindstrm]

Maybe related? facebook/react-native#33419
However, when I use ScrollView or FlatList from RN it works as expected.

[dlindstrm]

After some digging, I believe I’ve found the root cause of this issue.

On Android, when you touch a text component with selectable={true}, the component receives native focus. When this happens, the underlying ScrollView attempts to ensure that the focused component is fully visible, which can trigger an automatic scroll.

This behavior can be reproduced using a plain RN ScrollView. For example, if a selectable text is not fully visible and you touch it, the ScrollView automatically scrolls so the entire text is brought into view.
The issue with LegendList specifically is that list items are absolutely positioned. When the ScrollView tries to scroll to reveal the focused component, this results in the list jumping to the top.

As a workaround, I’ve switched to FlashList for now.

[johankasperi]

We were able to solve it by removing this "scroll child to focus" feature in ScrollView on Android. Added a PR to React Native that exposes a property which makes it possible to disable it: facebook/react-native#55143