diff --git a/bytes.hh b/bytes.hh
index a4ea9fd82b..7818490442 100644
--- a/bytes.hh
+++ b/bytes.hh
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 #include <functional>
 #include "utils/mutable_view.hh"
 
-using bytes = basic_sstring<int8_t, uint32_t, 31>;
+using bytes = basic_sstring<int8_t, uint32_t, 31, false>;
 using bytes_view = std::experimental::basic_string_view<int8_t>;
 using bytes_mutable_view = basic_mutable_view<bytes_view::value_type>;
 using bytes_opt = std::experimental::optional<bytes>;