diff --git a/esp32/include/communication/comm_base.hpp b/esp32/include/communication/comm_base.hpp
index 88af78a..fc5bfa7 100644
--- a/esp32/include/communication/comm_base.hpp
+++ b/esp32/include/communication/comm_base.hpp
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ class CommAdapterBase {
             sendToSubscribers(tag, buffer, stream.bytes_written);
         }
 
-        if (buffer != buffer) { // If we have malloced a buffer, free it now.
+        if (pb_heap_enc_buf != buffer) { // If we have malloced a buffer, free it now.
             free(buffer);
         }
     }