diff --git a/src/main/browser/browser-screencast-cdp-events.ts b/src/main/browser/browser-screencast-cdp-events.ts
index eb59bf6d875..dc34ef42d08 100644
--- a/src/main/browser/browser-screencast-cdp-events.ts
+++ b/src/main/browser/browser-screencast-cdp-events.ts
@@ -88,7 +88,9 @@ export function createBrowserScreencastMessageHandler(
     }
 
     try {
-      const image = new Uint8Array(Buffer.from(data, 'base64'))
+      const decoded = Buffer.from(data, 'base64')
+      const image =
+        decoded.buffer.byteLength === decoded.byteLength ? decoded : new Uint8Array(decoded)
       // Why: image dimension parsing happens for every live frame; share the
       // result between stale-frame rejection and metadata enrichment.
       const imageSize = readBrowserScreencastImageSize(image, options.format)
diff --git a/src/main/browser/browser-screencast-live-frame-allocation.test.ts b/src/main/browser/browser-screencast-live-frame-allocation.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f4801931b26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/browser/browser-screencast-live-frame-allocation.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,189 @@
+import { Buffer } from 'node:buffer'
+import { createHash } from 'node:crypto'
+import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs'
+import { resolve } from 'node:path'
+import type { Debugger } from 'electron'
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import {
+  decodeBrowserScreencastFrame,
+  type BrowserScreencastFormat
+} from '../../shared/browser-screencast-protocol'
+import { createBrowserScreencastMessageHandler } from './browser-screencast-cdp-events'
+import { createBrowserScreencastFramePacer } from './browser-screencast-frame-pacer'
+import type { BrowserScreencastOptions } from './browser-screencast-stream-types'
+import { createMockScreencastWebContents } from './browser-screencast-web-contents-test-double'
+
+function digest(bytes: Uint8Array): string {
+  return createHash('sha256').update(bytes).digest('hex')
+}
+
+function createLiveFrameRoute(
+  format: BrowserScreencastFormat,
+  onFrame: BrowserScreencastOptions['onFrame']
+) {
+  const acknowledgements: number[] = []
+  const dbg: Debugger = Object.assign(createMockScreencastWebContents().debugger, {
+    isAttached: () => false,
+    attach: () => {},
+    detach: () => {},
+    sendCommand: async (method: string, params?: Record<string, unknown>) => {
+      if (method === 'Page.screencastFrameAck' && typeof params?.sessionId === 'number') {
+        acknowledgements.push(params.sessionId)
+      }
+      return {}
+    }
+  })
+  const options: BrowserScreencastOptions = {
+    format,
+    quality: 70,
+    maxWidth: 1440,
+    maxHeight: 1200,
+    everyNthFrame: 2,
+    minFrameIntervalMs: 0,
+    onFrame
+  }
+  const isClosed = () => false
+  const isStopping = () => false
+  const pacer = createBrowserScreencastFramePacer({ dbg, options, isClosed, isStopping })
+  const handler = createBrowserScreencastMessageHandler({
+    dbg,
+    options,
+    isClosed,
+    isStopping,
+    queueFrame: pacer.queueFrame,
+    ackScreencastFrame: pacer.ackFrame,
+    scheduleNavigationFrameCapture: () => {},
+    clearNavigationCaptureTimer: () => {},
+    bumpSnapshotGeneration: () => {},
+    setDialogOpen: () => {}
+  })
+  return {
+    pacer,
+    acknowledgements,
+    emit: (data: string, sessionId: number) =>
+      handler({}, 'Page.screencastFrame', { data, sessionId, metadata: { timestamp: 123.5 } })
+  }
+}
+
+async function settleAcknowledgements(): Promise<void> {
+  for (let index = 0; index < 12; index++) {
+    await Promise.resolve()
+  }
+}
+
+describe('live screencast image allocation', () => {
+  it('replays captured PNG and JPEG bytes without copying the decoded image again', async () => {
+    const fixtures = [
+      {
+        format: 'png',
+        path: 'docs/site/public/docs/remote-server-add-client.png',
+        width: 832,
+        height: 832
+      },
+      {
+        format: 'jpeg',
+        path: 'docs/site/public/docs/posters/file-drag.jpg',
+        width: 1200,
+        height: 682
+      }
+    ] as const
+    const captures = fixtures.map((fixture) => {
+      const bytes = readFileSync(resolve(fixture.path))
+      return { ...fixture, bytes, data: bytes.toString('base64'), expectedDigest: digest(bytes) }
+    })
+    const nativeUint8Array = globalThis.Uint8Array
+    let imageCopyBytes = 0
+    globalThis.Uint8Array = new Proxy(nativeUint8Array, {
+      construct(target, argumentsList, newTarget) {
+        const source: unknown = argumentsList[0]
+        const bytes: unknown = Reflect.construct(target, argumentsList, newTarget)
+        if (!(bytes instanceof nativeUint8Array)) {
+          throw new Error('Unexpected byte constructor result')
+        }
+        if (Buffer.isBuffer(source)) {
+          imageCopyBytes += bytes.byteLength
+        }
+        return bytes
+      }
+    })
+    try {
+      for (const fixture of captures) {
+        const seen: number[] = []
+        const route = createLiveFrameRoute(fixture.format, (wire) => {
+          const frame = decodeBrowserScreencastFrame(wire)
+          if (!frame) {
+            throw new Error('Captured frame was not encoded')
+          }
+          expect(frame.format).toBe(fixture.format)
+          expect(frame.metadata.imageWidth).toBe(fixture.width)
+          expect(frame.metadata.imageHeight).toBe(fixture.height)
+          expect(frame.image.byteLength).toBe(fixture.bytes.byteLength)
+          expect(digest(frame.image)).toBe(fixture.expectedDigest)
+          seen.push(frame.seq)
+          return true
+        })
+        for (let sessionId = 1; sessionId <= 12; sessionId++) {
+          route.emit(fixture.data, sessionId)
+        }
+        await settleAcknowledgements()
+        expect(seen).toEqual(Array.from({ length: 12 }, (_, index) => index))
+        expect(route.acknowledgements).toEqual(Array.from({ length: 12 }, (_, index) => index + 1))
+        route.pacer.clearPending(true)
+      }
+      expect(imageCopyBytes).toBe(0)
+    } finally {
+      globalThis.Uint8Array = nativeUint8Array
+    }
+  })
+
+  it('owns pooled and offset images through refused sends and keeps encoded bytes independent', async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    const bytes = readFileSync(resolve('resources/tray/orca-menu-barTemplate.png'))
+    const data = bytes.toString('base64')
+    const expectedDigest = digest(bytes)
+    const pooled = Buffer.from(data, 'base64')
+    const parent = Buffer.alloc(bytes.byteLength + 4096, 0xa5)
+    bytes.copy(parent, 127)
+    const offset = parent.subarray(127, 127 + bytes.byteLength)
+    try {
+      expect(offset.byteOffset).toBe(127)
+      for (const decoded of [pooled, offset]) {
+        expect(decoded.buffer.byteLength).toBeGreaterThan(decoded.byteLength)
+        let accepted = false
+        const wires: Uint8Array[] = []
+        const route = createLiveFrameRoute('png', (wire) => {
+          wires.push(wire)
+          return accepted
+        })
+        const from = vi.spyOn(Buffer, 'from').mockReturnValueOnce(decoded)
+        try {
+          route.emit(data, 42)
+        } finally {
+          from.mockRestore()
+        }
+        await settleAcknowledgements()
+        expect(route.acknowledgements).toEqual([])
+        decoded.fill(0)
+        accepted = true
+        await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(50)
+        expect(route.acknowledgements).toEqual([42])
+        expect(wires).toHaveLength(2)
+        for (const wire of wires) {
+          const frame = decodeBrowserScreencastFrame(wire)
+          if (!frame) {
+            throw new Error('Pooled frame was not encoded')
+          }
+          expect(frame.metadata.imageWidth).toBe(22)
+          expect(frame.metadata.imageHeight).toBe(14)
+          expect(digest(frame.image)).toBe(expectedDigest)
+          expect(wire.buffer).not.toBe(decoded.buffer)
+        }
+        expect(wires.map((wire) => decodeBrowserScreencastFrame(wire)?.seq)).toEqual([0, 1])
+        route.pacer.clearPending(true)
+      }
+      expect(vi.getTimerCount()).toBe(0)
+    } finally {
+      vi.useRealTimers()
+    }
+  })
+})