diff --git a/sixel.c b/sixel.c
index c856122e..cac60493 100644
--- a/sixel.c
+++ b/sixel.c
@@ -726,6 +726,11 @@ sixel_unhook(struct terminal *term)
         term->sixel.image.height = term->sixel.max_non_empty_row_no + 1;
     }
 
+    if (term->sixel.image.height == 0 || term->sixel.image.width == 0) {
+        /* We won’t be emitting any sixels - free backing image */
+        free(term->sixel.image.data);
+    }
+
     int pixel_row_idx = 0;
     int pixel_rows_left = term->sixel.image.height;
     const int stride = term->sixel.image.width * sizeof(uint32_t);