diff --git a/src/web-chatview/chatview.js b/src/web-chatview/chatview.js
index 53cc08a1250e45b044ef7abeb50e06487d485387..83e753d0d55e32b570988e6ac50ffa05132d34b3 100644
--- a/src/web-chatview/chatview.js
+++ b/src/web-chatview/chatview.js
@@ -2506,7 +2506,9 @@ function requestSendMessageContent() {
 /* exported setSendMessageContent */
 function setSendMessageContent(contentStr) {
     messageBarInput.value = contentStr
-    grow_text_area();
+    // Do not grow if there are no messages loaded
+    if (historyBuffer.length !== 0)
+        grow_text_area();
     reduce_send_container();
 }