Navigation prevents navigating back to initial/splash screen

When a user presses back after completing login or onboarding and returns to the splash screen, they reach a pre-auth state while already authenticated — a CWE-862 (Missing Authorization Check) scenario where the auth gate is bypassed by navigating backwards through the stack. Beyond security, splash-screen return is a confusing dead end: users see a loading screen with no active content, often conclude the app has crashed, and close it. At minimum, you lose engagement; in apps with payment or subscription flows, back-navigation to the splash can expose a path to bypass gating.

Use conditional navigator groups keyed on auth state rather than manual navigation.reset() calls — this is more reliable and eliminates the entire class of problem. In src/navigation/RootNavigator.tsx:

function RootNavigator() {
  const { user } = useAuth() // your auth context

  return (
    <Stack.Navigator screenOptions={{ headerShown: false }}>
      {user ? (
        // Authenticated group — back button never reaches unauthenticated screens
        <Stack.Group>
          <Stack.Screen name="Home" component={HomeScreen} />
          <Stack.Screen name="Settings" component={SettingsScreen} />
        </Stack.Group>
      ) : (
        // Unauthenticated group — rendered with no animation to avoid flash
        <Stack.Group screenOptions={{ animationEnabled: false }}>
          <Stack.Screen name="Splash" component={SplashScreen} />
          <Stack.Screen name="Login" component={LoginScreen} />
        </Stack.Group>
      )}
    </Stack.Navigator>
  )
}

Swapping groups on auth state change resets the stack automatically — no CommonActions.reset() boilerplate needed, and back navigation is structurally impossible between groups.