React Native Department linking crashes on iOS with @config-plugins/react-native-branch in Expo SDK 52

I am utilizing Expo SDK 52 with a React Native app.
I wish to combine Department.io for deep linking. It really works superb on Android.

Nevertheless, on iOS, the app crashes instantly on launch if @config-plugins/react-native-branch is put in in bundle.json, even when I do not explicitly name it inside app.config.ts.

If I take away simply the @config-plugins/react-native-branch dependency from bundle.json, the crash disappears and the app launches superb — however clearly Department linking is lacking.

Crash error on iOS:

[__NSCFConstantString objectForKey:]: unrecognized selector despatched to occasion

Related a part of app.config.ts (when making an attempt):

plugins: [
  [
    "@config-plugins/react-native-branch",
    {
      apiKey: process.env.BRANCH_API_KEY,
      iosAppDomain: process.env.BRANCH_APP_DOMAIN,
    },
  ],
],

I’ve confirmed that it crashes even with out itemizing it manually in plugins — simply having the bundle put in causes it throughout construct/runtime.

Department linking works as anticipated on Android.

I anticipated iOS to behave the identical after putting in the plugin.

I attempted cleansing builds (expo prebuild –clean, npx pod-install), updating dependencies to newest for SDK 52.

I double-checked my BRANCH_API_KEY and iOS area setup.

iOS crashes instantly on launch if @config-plugins/react-native-branch is put in, even earlier than utilizing any Department API.