diff --git a/res/modules/internal/bytearray.lua b/res/modules/internal/bytearray.lua
index bc0907869..58b33a520 100644
--- a/res/modules/internal/bytearray.lua
+++ b/res/modules/internal/bytearray.lua
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ FFI.cdef[[
     } bytearray_t;
 ]]
 
+local free = FFI.C.free
+
 local FFIBytearray
 local bytearray_type
 
@@ -31,7 +33,7 @@ local function malloc(size)
         allocated_bytes = 0
     end
 
-    return FFI.gc(raw, FFI.C.free)
+    return raw
 end
 
 local function grow_buffer(self, elems)
@@ -40,6 +42,7 @@ local function grow_buffer(self, elems)
     self.bytes = malloc(new_capacity)
     FFI.copy(self.bytes, prev, self.size)
     self.capacity = new_capacity
+    free(prev)
 end
 
 local function trim_buffer(self)
@@ -51,6 +54,7 @@ local function trim_buffer(self)
     self.bytes = malloc(size)
     FFI.copy(self.bytes, prev, self.size)
     self.capacity = size
+    free(prev)
 end
 
 local function count_elements(b)
@@ -129,6 +133,7 @@ local function reserve(self, new_capacity)
     self.bytes = malloc(new_capacity)
     FFI.copy(self.bytes, prev, self.size)
     self.capacity = new_capacity
+    free(prev)
 end
 
 local function get_capacity(self)
@@ -187,7 +192,9 @@ local bytearray_mt = {
     __len = function(self)
         return tonumber(self.size)
     end,
-    __gc = function(self) end,
+    __gc = function(self)
+        free(self.bytes)
+    end,
     __ipairs = function(self)
         local i = 0
         return function()