diff --git a/shared/cryptoutil/cryptoUtil.ts b/shared/cryptoutil/cryptoUtil.ts
index 3f1b3652ac..f36c6fb9a9 100644
--- a/shared/cryptoutil/cryptoUtil.ts
+++ b/shared/cryptoutil/cryptoUtil.ts
@@ -115,6 +115,10 @@ export async function decryptJson(
   encryptedData: string,
 ): Promise<string> {
   try {
+    if (encryptedData === null || encryptedData === undefined) {
+      // to avoid crash in case of null or undefined
+      return '';
+    }
     // Disable Encryption in debug mode
     if (DEBUG_MODE_ENABLED && __DEV__) {
       return JSON.parse(encryptedData);
@@ -126,11 +130,6 @@ export async function decryptJson(
       );
     }
 
-    if (encryptedData === null || encryptedData === undefined) {
-      // to avoid crash in case of null or undefined
-      return '';
-    }
-
     return await SecureKeystore.decryptData(ENCRYPTION_ID, encryptedData);
   } catch (e) {
     console.error('error decryptJson:', e);