diff --git a/ts/receiver/dataMessage.ts b/ts/receiver/dataMessage.ts
index e2c8d09a4..0e23373e8 100644
--- a/ts/receiver/dataMessage.ts
+++ b/ts/receiver/dataMessage.ts
@@ -79,35 +79,36 @@ function cleanAttachments(decrypted: SignalService.DataMessage) {
   }
 }
 
-export function isMessageEmpty(message: SignalService.DataMessage) {
-  const {
-    flags,
-    body,
-    attachments,
-    group,
-    quote,
-    preview,
-    openGroupInvitation,
-    reaction,
-  } = message;
+/**
+ * We separate the isMessageEmpty and the isMessageEmptyExceptReaction, because we
+ *  - sometimes want to drop a message only when it is completely empty,
+ *  - and sometimes only when the message is empty but have a reaction
+ */
+function isMessageEmpty(message: SignalService.DataMessage) {
+  const { reaction } = message;
+
+  return isMessageEmptyExceptReaction(message) && isEmpty(reaction);
+}
+
+/**
+ * We separate the isMessageEmpty and the isMessageEmptyExceptReaction, because we
+ *  - sometimes want to drop a message only when it is completely empty,
+ *  - and sometimes only when the message is empty but have a reaction
+ */
+export function isMessageEmptyExceptReaction(message: SignalService.DataMessage) {
+  const { flags, body, attachments, group, quote, preview, openGroupInvitation } = message;
 
   return (
     !flags &&
-    // FIXME remove this hack to drop auto friend requests messages in a few weeks 15/07/2020
-    isBodyEmpty(body) &&
+    isEmpty(body) &&
     isEmpty(attachments) &&
     isEmpty(group) &&
     isEmpty(quote) &&
     isEmpty(preview) &&
-    isEmpty(openGroupInvitation) &&
-    isEmpty(reaction)
+    isEmpty(openGroupInvitation)
   );
 }
 
-function isBodyEmpty(body: string) {
-  return isEmpty(body);
-}
-
 export function cleanIncomingDataMessage(
   rawDataMessage: SignalService.DataMessage,
   envelope?: EnvelopePlus
diff --git a/ts/receiver/opengroup.ts b/ts/receiver/opengroup.ts
index 2837bb988..87aeba6dd 100644
--- a/ts/receiver/opengroup.ts
+++ b/ts/receiver/opengroup.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import { removeMessagePadding } from '../session/crypto/BufferPadding';
 import { UserUtils } from '../session/utils';
 import { perfEnd, perfStart } from '../session/utils/Performance';
 import { fromBase64ToArray } from '../session/utils/String';
-import { cleanIncomingDataMessage, isMessageEmpty } from './dataMessage';
+import { cleanIncomingDataMessage, isMessageEmptyExceptReaction } from './dataMessage';
 import { handleMessageJob, toRegularMessage } from './queuedJob';
 
 export const handleOpenGroupV4Message = async (
@@ -63,9 +63,11 @@ const handleOpenGroupMessage = async (
     return;
   }
 
-  if (isMessageEmpty(idataMessage as SignalService.DataMessage)) {
+  if (isMessageEmptyExceptReaction(idataMessage as SignalService.DataMessage)) {
     // empty message, drop it
-    window.log.info('received an empty message for sogs');
+    if (!idataMessage.reaction) {
+      window.log.info('received an empty message for sogs');
+    }
     return;
   }