diff --git a/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.js b/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.js
index 61f6981edbbe..d3268ebc54b0 100755
--- a/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.js
+++ b/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.js
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import * as EmojiUtils from '../../../libs/EmojiUtils';
 import CategoryShortcutBar from '../CategoryShortcutBar';
 import TextInput from '../../TextInput';
 import isEnterWhileComposition from '../../../libs/KeyboardShortcut/isEnterWhileComposition';
-import canFocusInputOnScreenFocus from '../../../libs/canFocusInputOnScreenFocus';
 
 const propTypes = {
     /** Function to add the selected emoji to the main compose text input */
@@ -59,10 +58,6 @@ class EmojiPickerMenu extends Component {
         // Ref for emoji FlatList
         this.emojiList = undefined;
 
-        // We want consistent auto focus behavior on input between native and mWeb so we have some auto focus management code that will
-        // prevent auto focus when open picker for mobile device
-        this.shouldFocusInputOnScreenFocus = canFocusInputOnScreenFocus();
-
         this.filterEmojis = _.debounce(this.filterEmojis.bind(this), 300);
         this.highlightAdjacentEmoji = this.highlightAdjacentEmoji.bind(this);
         this.setupEventHandlers = this.setupEventHandlers.bind(this);
@@ -101,7 +96,7 @@ class EmojiPickerMenu extends Component {
         // get a ref to the inner textInput element e.g. if we do
         // <constructor ref={el => this.textInput = el} /> this will not
         // return a ref to the component, but rather the HTML element by default
-        if (this.shouldFocusInputOnScreenFocus && this.props.forwardedRef && _.isFunction(this.props.forwardedRef)) {
+        if (this.props.forwardedRef && _.isFunction(this.props.forwardedRef)) {
             this.props.forwardedRef(this.searchInput);
         }
         this.setupEventHandlers();
@@ -507,7 +502,6 @@ class EmojiPickerMenu extends Component {
                         onChangeText={this.filterEmojis}
                         defaultValue=""
                         ref={(el) => (this.searchInput = el)}
-                        autoFocus={this.shouldFocusInputOnScreenFocus}
                         selectTextOnFocus={this.state.selectTextOnFocus}
                         onSelectionChange={this.onSelectionChange}
                         onFocus={() => this.setState({isFocused: true, highlightedIndex: -1, isUsingKeyboardMovement: false})}
diff --git a/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.native.js b/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.native.js
index bfdaf1c13d1b..5cd956dae56b 100644
--- a/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.native.js
+++ b/src/components/EmojiPicker/EmojiPickerMenu/index.native.js
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ const propTypes = {
     /** Function to add the selected emoji to the main compose text input */
     onEmojiSelected: PropTypes.func.isRequired,
 
+    /** The ref to the search input (may be null on small screen widths) */
+    forwardedRef: PropTypes.func,
+
     /** Stores user's preferred skin tone */
     preferredSkinTone: PropTypes.oneOfType([PropTypes.number, PropTypes.string]),
 
@@ -37,11 +40,12 @@ const propTypes = {
 };
 
 const defaultProps = {
+    forwardedRef: () => {},
     preferredSkinTone: CONST.EMOJI_DEFAULT_SKIN_TONE,
     frequentlyUsedEmojis: [],
 };
 
-function EmojiPickerMenu({preferredLocale, onEmojiSelected, preferredSkinTone, translate, frequentlyUsedEmojis}) {
+function EmojiPickerMenu({preferredLocale, onEmojiSelected, preferredSkinTone, translate, frequentlyUsedEmojis, forwardedRef}) {
     const emojiList = useAnimatedRef();
     // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
     const allEmojis = useMemo(() => EmojiUtils.mergeEmojisWithFrequentlyUsedEmojis(emojis), [frequentlyUsedEmojis]);
@@ -168,6 +172,7 @@ function EmojiPickerMenu({preferredLocale, onEmojiSelected, preferredSkinTone, t
                     accessibilityLabel={translate('common.search')}
                     accessibilityRole={CONST.ACCESSIBILITY_ROLE.TEXT}
                     onChangeText={filterEmojis}
+                    ref={forwardedRef}
                 />
             </View>
             {!isFiltered && (
