Merge branch 'feature/IO-3303-Socket-IO-Optimization-Auto-Add-Watchers-Gate' into release/2025-07-18

# Conflicts:
#	client/src/contexts/SocketIO/socketProvider.jsx

server/notifications/autoAddWatchers.js

@@ -50,7 +50,12 @@ const autoAddWatchers = async (req) => {
   try {
     // Fetch bodyshop data from Redis
     const bodyshopData = await getBodyshopFromRedis(shopId);
-    const notificationFollowers = bodyshopData?.notification_followers || [];
+    let notificationFollowers = bodyshopData?.notification_followers;
+
+    // Bail if notification_followers is missing or not an array
+    if (!notificationFollowers || !Array.isArray(notificationFollowers)) {
+      return;
+    }
 
     // Execute queries in parallel
     const [notificationData, existingWatchersData] = await Promise.all([