diff --git a/src/app/application.cpp b/src/app/application.cpp
index 1bd586755..e87485751 100644
--- a/src/app/application.cpp
+++ b/src/app/application.cpp
@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ void Application::processParams(const QStringList &params)
 
         if (param.startsWith(QLatin1String("@addPaused=")))
         {
-            torrentParams.addPaused = (param.midRef(11).toInt() != 0);
+            torrentParams.addPaused = (QStringView(param).mid(11).toInt() != 0);
             continue;
         }
 
@@ -591,7 +591,7 @@ void Application::processParams(const QStringList &params)
 
         if (param.startsWith(QLatin1String("@skipDialog=")))
         {
-            skipTorrentDialog = (param.midRef(12).toInt() != 0);
+            skipTorrentDialog = (QStringView(param).mid(12).toInt() != 0);
             continue;
         }
 
diff --git a/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.cpp b/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.cpp
index 79ba90ee9..ebe73d637 100644
--- a/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.cpp
+++ b/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.cpp
@@ -32,18 +32,18 @@
 
 using namespace BitTorrent;
 
-PeerAddress PeerAddress::parse(const QString &address)
+PeerAddress PeerAddress::parse(const QStringView address)
 {
-    QVector<QStringRef> ipPort;
+    QList<QStringView> ipPort;
 
-    if (address.startsWith('[') && address.contains("]:"))
+    if (address.startsWith(u'[') && address.contains(QLatin1String("]:")))
     {  // IPv6
-        ipPort = address.splitRef("]:");
+        ipPort = address.split(QString::fromLatin1("]:"));
         ipPort[0] = ipPort[0].mid(1);  // chop '['
     }
-    else if (address.contains(':'))
+    else if (address.contains(u':'))
     {  // IPv4
-        ipPort = address.splitRef(':');
+        ipPort = address.split(u':');
     }
     else
     {
diff --git a/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.h b/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.h
index 142cf048f..3d7e5b391 100644
--- a/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.h
+++ b/src/base/bittorrent/peeraddress.h
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ namespace BitTorrent
         QHostAddress ip;
         ushort port = 0;
 
-        static PeerAddress parse(const QString &address);
+        static PeerAddress parse(QStringView address);
         QString toString() const;
     };
 
diff --git a/src/base/bittorrent/session.cpp b/src/base/bittorrent/session.cpp
index f2a58f6db..aebb53d54 100644
--- a/src/base/bittorrent/session.cpp
+++ b/src/base/bittorrent/session.cpp
@@ -1590,7 +1590,7 @@ void Session::populateAdditionalTrackers()
     m_additionalTrackerList.clear();
 
     const QString trackers = additionalTrackers();
-    for (QStringRef tracker : asConst(trackers.splitRef('\n')))
+    for (QStringView tracker : asConst(QStringView(trackers).split(u'\n')))
     {
         tracker = tracker.trimmed();
         if (!tracker.isEmpty())
diff --git a/src/base/bittorrent/torrentimpl.cpp b/src/base/bittorrent/torrentimpl.cpp
index a697bb30e..99e52d4dc 100644
--- a/src/base/bittorrent/torrentimpl.cpp
+++ b/src/base/bittorrent/torrentimpl.cpp
@@ -1866,9 +1866,9 @@ void TorrentImpl::handleFileRenamedAlert(const lt::file_renamed_alert *p)
     if (m_oldPath[p->index].isEmpty())
         m_oldPath.remove(p->index);
 
-    QVector<QStringRef> oldPathParts = oldFilePath.splitRef('/', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+    QList<QStringView> oldPathParts = QStringView(oldFilePath).split('/', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
     oldPathParts.removeLast();  // drop file name part
-    QVector<QStringRef> newPathParts = newFilePath.splitRef('/', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+    QList<QStringView> newPathParts = QStringView(newFilePath).split('/', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
     newPathParts.removeLast();  // drop file name part
 
 #if defined(Q_OS_WIN)
@@ -1887,7 +1887,7 @@ void TorrentImpl::handleFileRenamedAlert(const lt::file_renamed_alert *p)
 
     for (int i = (oldPathParts.size() - 1); i >= pathIdx; --i)
     {
-        QDir().rmdir(savePath() + Utils::String::join(oldPathParts, QLatin1String("/")));
+        QDir().rmdir(savePath() + Utils::String::join(oldPathParts, QString::fromLatin1("/")));
         oldPathParts.removeLast();
     }
 
diff --git a/src/base/bittorrent/torrentinfo.cpp b/src/base/bittorrent/torrentinfo.cpp
index 00e18de6c..e1805026f 100644
--- a/src/base/bittorrent/torrentinfo.cpp
+++ b/src/base/bittorrent/torrentinfo.cpp
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ namespace
         {
             if (QDir::isAbsolutePath(filePath)) continue;
 
-            const auto filePathElements = filePath.splitRef('/');
+            const auto filePathElements = QStringView(filePath).split(u'/');
             // if at least one file has no root folder, no common root folder exists
             if (filePathElements.count() <= 1) return {};
 
diff --git a/src/base/http/connection.cpp b/src/base/http/connection.cpp
index a27b68a1f..0dc5a8b98 100644
--- a/src/base/http/connection.cpp
+++ b/src/base/http/connection.cpp
@@ -137,9 +137,9 @@ bool Connection::acceptsGzipEncoding(QString codings)
 {
     // [rfc7231] 5.3.4. Accept-Encoding
 
-    const auto isCodingAvailable = [](const QVector<QStringRef> &list, const QString &encoding) -> bool
+    const auto isCodingAvailable = [](const QList<QStringView> &list, const QStringView encoding) -> bool
     {
-        for (const QStringRef &str : list)
+        for (const QStringView &str : list)
         {
             if (!str.startsWith(encoding))
                 continue;
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ bool Connection::acceptsGzipEncoding(QString codings)
                 return true;
 
             // [rfc7231] 5.3.1. Quality Values
-            const QStringRef substr = str.mid(encoding.size() + 3);  // ex. skip over "gzip;q="
+            const QStringView substr = str.mid(encoding.size() + 3);  // ex. skip over "gzip;q="
 
             bool ok = false;
             const double qvalue = substr.toDouble(&ok);
@@ -161,15 +161,15 @@ bool Connection::acceptsGzipEncoding(QString codings)
         return false;
     };
 
-    const QVector<QStringRef> list = codings.remove(' ').remove('\t').splitRef(',', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+    const QList<QStringView> list = QStringView(codings.remove(' ').remove('\t')).split(u',', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
     if (list.isEmpty())
         return false;
 
-    const bool canGzip = isCodingAvailable(list, QLatin1String("gzip"));
+    const bool canGzip = isCodingAvailable(list, QString::fromLatin1("gzip"));
     if (canGzip)
         return true;
 
-    const bool canAny = isCodingAvailable(list, QLatin1String("*"));
+    const bool canAny = isCodingAvailable(list, QString::fromLatin1("*"));
     if (canAny)
         return true;
 
diff --git a/src/base/http/requestparser.cpp b/src/base/http/requestparser.cpp
index 284783c3f..7f8af9a66 100644
--- a/src/base/http/requestparser.cpp
+++ b/src/base/http/requestparser.cpp
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ namespace
         return in;
     }
 
-    bool parseHeaderLine(const QString &line, HeaderMap &out)
+    bool parseHeaderLine(const QStringView line, HeaderMap &out)
     {
         // [rfc7230] 3.2. Header Fields
         const int i = line.indexOf(':');
@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@ namespace
             return false;
         }
 
-        const QString name = line.leftRef(i).trimmed().toString().toLower();
-        const QString value = line.midRef(i + 1).trimmed().toString();
+        const QString name = line.left(i).trimmed().toString().toLower();
+        const QString value = line.mid(i + 1).trimmed().toString();
         out[name] = value;
 
         return true;
@@ -145,10 +145,10 @@ RequestParser::ParseResult RequestParser::doParse(const QByteArray &data)
     return {ParseStatus::BadRequest, Request(), 0};  // TODO: SHOULD respond "501 Not Implemented"
 }
 
-bool RequestParser::parseStartLines(const QString &data)
+bool RequestParser::parseStartLines(const QStringView data)
 {
     // we don't handle malformed request which uses `LF` for newline
-    const QVector<QStringRef> lines = data.splitRef(CRLF, Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+    const QList<QStringView> lines = data.split(QString::fromLatin1(CRLF), Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
 
     // [rfc7230] 3.2.2. Field Order
     QStringList requestLines;
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ bool RequestParser::parsePostMessage(const QByteArray &data)
             return false;
         }
 
-        const QByteArray delimiter = Utils::String::unquote(contentType.midRef(idx + boundaryFieldName.size())).toLatin1();
+        const QByteArray delimiter = Utils::String::unquote(QStringView(contentType).mid(idx + boundaryFieldName.size())).toLatin1();
         if (delimiter.isEmpty())
         {
             qWarning() << Q_FUNC_INFO << "boundary delimiter field empty!";
@@ -311,13 +311,13 @@ bool RequestParser::parseFormData(const QByteArray &data)
     const QByteArray payload = viewWithoutEndingWith(list[1], CRLF);
 
     HeaderMap headersMap;
-    const QVector<QStringRef> headerLines = headers.splitRef(CRLF, Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+    const QList<QStringView> headerLines = QStringView(headers).split(QString::fromLatin1(CRLF), Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
     for (const auto &line : headerLines)
     {
-        if (line.trimmed().startsWith(HEADER_CONTENT_DISPOSITION, Qt::CaseInsensitive))
+        if (line.trimmed().startsWith(QString::fromLatin1(HEADER_CONTENT_DISPOSITION), Qt::CaseInsensitive))
         {
             // extract out filename & name
-            const QVector<QStringRef> directives = line.split(';', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+            const QList<QStringView> directives = line.split(u';', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
 
             for (const auto &directive : directives)
             {
diff --git a/src/base/http/requestparser.h b/src/base/http/requestparser.h
index cf510165e..b9eb7cdfa 100644
--- a/src/base/http/requestparser.h
+++ b/src/base/http/requestparser.h
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ namespace Http
         RequestParser();
 
         ParseResult doParse(const QByteArray &data);
-        bool parseStartLines(const QString &data);
+        bool parseStartLines(QStringView data);
         bool parseRequestLine(const QString &line);
 
         bool parsePostMessage(const QByteArray &data);
diff --git a/src/base/rss/rss_autodownloadrule.cpp b/src/base/rss/rss_autodownloadrule.cpp
index 3c701ba91..ecc6b08fd 100644
--- a/src/base/rss/rss_autodownloadrule.cpp
+++ b/src/base/rss/rss_autodownloadrule.cpp
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ bool AutoDownloadRule::matchesEpisodeFilterExpression(const QString &articleTitl
 
                 if (episode.endsWith('-'))
                 { // Infinite range
-                    const int episodeOurs {episode.leftRef(episode.size() - 1).toInt()};
+                    const int episodeOurs {QStringView(episode).left(episode.size() - 1).toInt()};
                     if (((seasonTheirs == seasonOurs) && (episodeTheirs >= episodeOurs)) || (seasonTheirs > seasonOurs))
                         return true;
                 }
diff --git a/src/base/search/searchdownloadhandler.cpp b/src/base/search/searchdownloadhandler.cpp
index 8fd823c0d..2d781ff7a 100644
--- a/src/base/search/searchdownloadhandler.cpp
+++ b/src/base/search/searchdownloadhandler.cpp
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ void SearchDownloadHandler::downloadProcessFinished(int exitcode)
     if ((exitcode == 0) && (m_downloadProcess->exitStatus() == QProcess::NormalExit))
     {
         const QString line = QString::fromUtf8(m_downloadProcess->readAllStandardOutput()).trimmed();
-        const QVector<QStringRef> parts = line.splitRef(' ');
+        const QList<QStringView> parts = QStringView(line).split(u' ');
         if (parts.size() == 2)
             path = parts[0].toString();
     }
diff --git a/src/base/search/searchhandler.cpp b/src/base/search/searchhandler.cpp
index 6438f0cc9..7aec0d84d 100644
--- a/src/base/search/searchhandler.cpp
+++ b/src/base/search/searchhandler.cpp
@@ -163,9 +163,9 @@ void SearchHandler::processFailed()
 // Parse one line of search results list
 // Line is in the following form:
 // file url | file name | file size | nb seeds | nb leechers | Search engine url
-bool SearchHandler::parseSearchResult(const QString &line, SearchResult &searchResult)
+bool SearchHandler::parseSearchResult(const QStringView line, SearchResult &searchResult)
 {
-    const QVector<QStringRef> parts = line.splitRef('|');
+    const QList<QStringView> parts = line.split(u'|');
     const int nbFields = parts.size();
 
     if (nbFields < (NB_PLUGIN_COLUMNS - 1)) return false; // -1 because desc_link is optional
diff --git a/src/base/search/searchhandler.h b/src/base/search/searchhandler.h
index 981dae502..2f42b1bca 100644
--- a/src/base/search/searchhandler.h
+++ b/src/base/search/searchhandler.h
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ private:
     void readSearchOutput();
     void processFailed();
     void processFinished(int exitcode);
-    bool parseSearchResult(const QString &line, SearchResult &searchResult);
+    bool parseSearchResult(QStringView line, SearchResult &searchResult);
 
     const QString m_pattern;
     const QString m_category;
diff --git a/src/base/utils/bytearray.h b/src/base/utils/bytearray.h
index 2b49f2082..c3d959b4c 100644
--- a/src/base/utils/bytearray.h
+++ b/src/base/utils/bytearray.h
@@ -28,14 +28,14 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
-#include <QString>
+#include <Qt>
 #include <QtContainerFwd>
 
 class QByteArray;
 
 namespace Utils::ByteArray
 {
-    // Mimic QString::splitRef(sep, behavior)
+    // Mimic QStringView(in).split(sep, behavior)
     QVector<QByteArray> splitToViews(const QByteArray &in, const QByteArray &sep, const Qt::SplitBehavior behavior = Qt::KeepEmptyParts);
 
     // Mimic QByteArray::mid(pos, len) but instead of returning a full-copy,
diff --git a/src/base/utils/compare.cpp b/src/base/utils/compare.cpp
index 343ff01f5..536dd147c 100644
--- a/src/base/utils/compare.cpp
+++ b/src/base/utils/compare.cpp
@@ -60,16 +60,16 @@ int Utils::Compare::naturalCompare(const QString &left, const QString &right, co
         {
             // Both are digits, compare the numbers
 
-            const auto numberView = [](const QString &str, int &pos) -> QStringRef
+            const auto numberView = [](const QStringView str, int &pos) -> QStringView
             {
                 const int start = pos;
                 while ((pos < str.size()) && str[pos].isDigit())
                     ++pos;
-                return str.midRef(start, (pos - start));
+                return str.mid(start, (pos - start));
             };
 
-            const QStringRef numViewL = numberView(left, posL);
-            const QStringRef numViewR = numberView(right, posR);
+            const QStringView numViewL = numberView(left, posL);
+            const QStringView numViewR = numberView(right, posR);
 
             if (numViewL.length() != numViewR.length())
                 return (numViewL.length() - numViewR.length());
diff --git a/src/base/utils/misc.cpp b/src/base/utils/misc.cpp
index e560f9e75..71c334d43 100644
--- a/src/base/utils/misc.cpp
+++ b/src/base/utils/misc.cpp
@@ -498,7 +498,7 @@ QString Utils::Misc::opensslVersionString()
 #else
     static const auto version {QString::fromLatin1(SSLeay_version(SSLEAY_VERSION))};
 #endif
-    return version.splitRef(' ', Qt::SkipEmptyParts)[1].toString();
+    return QStringView(version).split(u' ', Qt::SkipEmptyParts)[1].toString();
 }
 
 QString Utils::Misc::zlibVersionString()
diff --git a/src/base/utils/string.cpp b/src/base/utils/string.cpp
index 46b2c4450..6efc1adb1 100644
--- a/src/base/utils/string.cpp
+++ b/src/base/utils/string.cpp
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 // to send numbers instead of strings with suffixes
 QString Utils::String::fromDouble(const double n, const int precision)
 {
-    /* HACK because QString rounds up. Eg QString::number(0.999*100.0, 'f' ,1) == 99.9
+    /* HACK because QString rounds up. Eg QString::number(0.999*100.0, 'f', 1) == 99.9
     ** but QString::number(0.9999*100.0, 'f' ,1) == 100.0 The problem manifests when
     ** the number has more digits after the decimal than we want AND the digit after
     ** our 'wanted' is >= 5. In this case our last digit gets rounded up. So for each
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ std::optional<double> Utils::String::parseDouble(const QString &string)
     return std::nullopt;
 }
 
-QString Utils::String::join(const QVector<QStringRef> &strings, const QString &separator)
+QString Utils::String::join(const QList<QStringView> &strings, const QStringView separator)
 {
     if (strings.empty())
         return {};
diff --git a/src/base/utils/string.h b/src/base/utils/string.h
index e7ff9919b..e4f3c303b 100644
--- a/src/base/utils/string.h
+++ b/src/base/utils/string.h
@@ -37,8 +37,6 @@
 #include <Qt>
 #include <QtContainerFwd>
 
-class QStringRef;
-
 namespace Utils::String
 {
     QString wildcardToRegexPattern(const QString &pattern);
@@ -61,7 +59,7 @@ namespace Utils::String
     std::optional<int> parseInt(const QString &string);
     std::optional<double> parseDouble(const QString &string);
 
-    QString join(const QVector<QStringRef> &strings, const QString &separator);
+    QString join(const QList<QStringView> &strings, QStringView separator);
 
     QString fromDouble(double n, int precision);
 
diff --git a/src/gui/downloadfromurldialog.cpp b/src/gui/downloadfromurldialog.cpp
index 1d85a385d..a3f286ac9 100644
--- a/src/gui/downloadfromurldialog.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/downloadfromurldialog.cpp
@@ -71,10 +71,10 @@ DownloadFromURLDialog::DownloadFromURLDialog(QWidget *parent)
 
     // Paste clipboard if there is an URL in it
     const QString clipboardText = qApp->clipboard()->text();
-    const QVector<QStringRef> clipboardList = clipboardText.splitRef('\n');
+    const QList<QStringView> clipboardList = QStringView(clipboardText).split(u'\n');
 
     QSet<QString> uniqueURLs;
-    for (QStringRef strRef : clipboardList)
+    for (QStringView strRef : clipboardList)
     {
         strRef = strRef.trimmed();
         if (strRef.isEmpty()) continue;
@@ -103,10 +103,10 @@ DownloadFromURLDialog::~DownloadFromURLDialog()
 void DownloadFromURLDialog::downloadButtonClicked()
 {
     const QString plainText = m_ui->textUrls->toPlainText();
-    const QVector<QStringRef> urls = plainText.splitRef('\n');
+    const QList<QStringView> urls = QStringView(plainText).split(u'\n');
 
     QSet<QString> uniqueURLs;
-    for (QStringRef url : urls)
+    for (QStringView url : urls)
     {
         url = url.trimmed();
         if (url.isEmpty()) continue;
diff --git a/src/gui/fspathedit_p.cpp b/src/gui/fspathedit_p.cpp
index 1cc63c384..f2c8c294a 100644
--- a/src/gui/fspathedit_p.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/fspathedit_p.cpp
@@ -107,30 +107,32 @@ QValidator::State Private::FileSystemPathValidator::validate(QString &input, int
 
     // we test path components from beginning to the one with cursor location in strict mode
     // and the one with cursor and beyond in non-strict mode
-    QVector<QStringRef> components = input.splitRef(QDir::separator(), Qt::KeepEmptyParts);
+    QList<QStringView> components = QStringView(input).split(QDir::separator(), Qt::KeepEmptyParts);
     // find index of the component that contains pos
     int componentWithCursorIndex = 0;
+    int componentWithCursorPosition = 0;
     int pathLength = 0;
 
     // components.size() - 1 because when path ends with QDir::separator(), we will not see the last
     // character in the components array, yet everything past the one before the last delimiter
     // belongs to the last component
-    for (; (componentWithCursorIndex < components.size() - 1) && (pathLength < pos); ++componentWithCursorIndex)
+    for (; (componentWithCursorIndex < (components.size() - 1)) && (pathLength < pos); ++componentWithCursorIndex)
     {
-        pathLength = components[componentWithCursorIndex].position() + components[componentWithCursorIndex].size();
+        pathLength = componentWithCursorPosition + components[componentWithCursorIndex].size();
+        componentWithCursorPosition += components[componentWithCursorIndex].size() + 1;
     }
 
     Q_ASSERT(componentWithCursorIndex < components.size());
 
     m_lastValidationState = QValidator::Acceptable;
     if (componentWithCursorIndex > 0)
-        m_lastValidationState = validate(input, components, m_strictMode, 0, componentWithCursorIndex - 1);
+        m_lastValidationState = validate(components, m_strictMode, 0, componentWithCursorIndex - 1);
     if ((m_lastValidationState == QValidator::Acceptable) && (componentWithCursorIndex < components.size()))
-        m_lastValidationState = validate(input, components, false, componentWithCursorIndex, components.size() - 1);
+        m_lastValidationState = validate(components, false, componentWithCursorIndex, components.size() - 1);
     return m_lastValidationState;
 }
 
-QValidator::State Private::FileSystemPathValidator::validate(const QString &path, const QVector<QStringRef> &pathComponents, bool strict,
+QValidator::State Private::FileSystemPathValidator::validate(const QList<QStringView> &pathComponents, bool strict,
                                                              int firstComponentToTest, int lastComponentToTest) const
 {
     Q_ASSERT(firstComponentToTest >= 0);
@@ -141,12 +143,13 @@ QValidator::State Private::FileSystemPathValidator::validate(const QString &path
     if (pathComponents.empty())
         return strict ? QValidator::Invalid : QValidator::Intermediate;
 
-    for (int i = firstComponentToTest; i < lastComponentToTest; ++i)
+    for (int i = firstComponentToTest; i <= lastComponentToTest; ++i)
     {
-        if (pathComponents[i].isEmpty()) continue;
+        const bool isFinalPath = (i == (pathComponents.size() - 1));
+        const QStringView componentPath = pathComponents[i];
+        if (componentPath.isEmpty()) continue;
 
-        QStringRef componentPath(&path, 0, pathComponents[i].position() + pathComponents[i].size());
-        m_lastTestResult = testPath(componentPath, false);
+        m_lastTestResult = testPath(pathComponents[i], isFinalPath);
         if (m_lastTestResult != TestResult::OK)
         {
             m_lastTestedPath = componentPath.toString();
@@ -154,20 +157,11 @@ QValidator::State Private::FileSystemPathValidator::validate(const QString &path
         }
     }
 
-    const bool finalPath = (lastComponentToTest == (pathComponents.size() - 1));
-    QStringRef componentPath(&path, 0, pathComponents[lastComponentToTest].position()
-                                + pathComponents[lastComponentToTest].size());
-    m_lastTestResult = testPath(componentPath, finalPath);
-    if (m_lastTestResult != TestResult::OK)
-    {
-        m_lastTestedPath = componentPath.toString();
-        return strict ? QValidator::Invalid : QValidator::Intermediate;
-    }
     return QValidator::Acceptable;
 }
 
 Private::FileSystemPathValidator::TestResult
-Private::FileSystemPathValidator::testPath(const QStringRef &path, bool pathIsComplete) const
+Private::FileSystemPathValidator::testPath(const QStringView path, bool pathIsComplete) const
 {
     QFileInfo fi(path.toString());
     if (m_existingOnly && !fi.exists())
diff --git a/src/gui/fspathedit_p.h b/src/gui/fspathedit_p.h
index a99384fa9..8f443b4d2 100644
--- a/src/gui/fspathedit_p.h
+++ b/src/gui/fspathedit_p.h
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ class QCompleter;
 class QContextMenuEvent;
 class QFileSystemModel;
 class QKeyEvent;
-class QStringRef;
 
 namespace Private
 {
@@ -82,10 +81,10 @@ namespace Private
         QString lastTestedPath() const;
 
     private:
-        QValidator::State validate(const QString &path, const QVector<QStringRef> &pathComponents, bool strict,
+        QValidator::State validate(const QList<QStringView> &pathComponents, bool strict,
                                    int firstComponentToTest, int lastComponentToTest) const;
 
-        TestResult testPath(const QStringRef &path, bool pathIsComplete) const;
+        TestResult testPath(QStringView path, bool pathIsComplete) const;
 
         bool m_strictMode;
         bool m_existingOnly;
diff --git a/src/gui/mainwindow.cpp b/src/gui/mainwindow.cpp
index 6210f3fb6..15a7ed5b6 100644
--- a/src/gui/mainwindow.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/mainwindow.cpp
@@ -2184,8 +2184,9 @@ void MainWindow::pythonDownloadFinished(const Net::DownloadResult &result)
     QProcess installer;
     qDebug("Launching Python installer in passive mode...");
 
-    QFile::rename(result.filePath, result.filePath + ".exe");
-    installer.start('"' + Utils::Fs::toNativePath(result.filePath) + ".exe\" /passive");
+    const QString exePath = result.filePath + QLatin1String(".exe");
+    QFile::rename(result.filePath, exePath);
+    installer.start(Utils::Fs::toNativePath(exePath), {"/passive"});
 
     // Wait for setup to complete
     installer.waitForFinished(10 * 60 * 1000);
@@ -2195,7 +2196,7 @@ void MainWindow::pythonDownloadFinished(const Net::DownloadResult &result)
     qDebug("Setup should be complete!");
 
     // Delete temp file
-    Utils::Fs::forceRemove(result.filePath + ".exe");
+    Utils::Fs::forceRemove(exePath);
 
     // Reload search engine
     if (Utils::ForeignApps::pythonInfo().isSupportedVersion())
diff --git a/src/gui/properties/trackersadditiondialog.cpp b/src/gui/properties/trackersadditiondialog.cpp
index f0f904e54..f9f4557b5 100644
--- a/src/gui/properties/trackersadditiondialog.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/properties/trackersadditiondialog.cpp
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ QStringList TrackersAdditionDialog::newTrackers() const
     const QString plainText = m_ui->textEditTrackersList->toPlainText();
 
     QStringList cleanTrackers;
-    for (QStringRef url : asConst(plainText.splitRef('\n')))
+    for (QStringView url : asConst(QStringView(plainText).split(u'\n')))
     {
         url = url.trimmed();
         if (!url.isEmpty())
diff --git a/src/gui/torrentcontentmodel.cpp b/src/gui/torrentcontentmodel.cpp
index c26f2c9bd..ae62ea5f7 100644
--- a/src/gui/torrentcontentmodel.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/torrentcontentmodel.cpp
@@ -503,16 +503,16 @@ void TorrentContentModel::setupModelData(const BitTorrent::TorrentInfo &info)
         const QString path = Utils::Fs::toUniformPath(info.filePath(i));
 
         // Iterate of parts of the path to create necessary folders
-        QVector<QStringRef> pathFolders = path.splitRef('/', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+        QList<QStringView> pathFolders = QStringView(path).split(u'/', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
         pathFolders.removeLast();
 
-        for (const QStringRef &pathPartRef : asConst(pathFolders))
+        for (const QStringView pathPart : asConst(pathFolders))
         {
-            const QString pathPart = pathPartRef.toString();
-            TorrentContentModelFolder *newParent = currentParent->childFolderWithName(pathPart);
+            const QString folderPath = pathPart.toString();
+            TorrentContentModelFolder *newParent = currentParent->childFolderWithName(folderPath);
             if (!newParent)
             {
-                newParent = new TorrentContentModelFolder(pathPart, currentParent);
+                newParent = new TorrentContentModelFolder(folderPath, currentParent);
                 currentParent->appendChild(newParent);
             }
             currentParent = newParent;
diff --git a/src/gui/trackerentriesdialog.cpp b/src/gui/trackerentriesdialog.cpp
index 46bb7fe37..a685449a4 100644
--- a/src/gui/trackerentriesdialog.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/trackerentriesdialog.cpp
@@ -81,13 +81,13 @@ void TrackerEntriesDialog::setTrackers(const QVector<BitTorrent::TrackerEntry> &
 QVector<BitTorrent::TrackerEntry> TrackerEntriesDialog::trackers() const
 {
     const QString plainText = m_ui->plainTextEdit->toPlainText();
-    const QVector<QStringRef> lines = plainText.splitRef('\n');
+    const QList<QStringView> lines = QStringView(plainText).split(u'\n');
 
     QVector<BitTorrent::TrackerEntry> entries;
     entries.reserve(lines.size());
 
     int tier = 0;
-    for (QStringRef line : lines)
+    for (QStringView line : lines)
     {
         line = line.trimmed();
 
diff --git a/src/webui/webapplication.cpp b/src/webui/webapplication.cpp
index d71531ce4..f471da42e 100644
--- a/src/webui/webapplication.cpp
+++ b/src/webui/webapplication.cpp
@@ -72,11 +72,11 @@ const QString PRIVATE_FOLDER {QStringLiteral("/private")};
 
 namespace
 {
-    QStringMap parseCookie(const QString &cookieStr)
+    QStringMap parseCookie(const QStringView cookieStr)
     {
         // [rfc6265] 4.2.1. Syntax
         QStringMap ret;
-        const QVector<QStringRef> cookies = cookieStr.splitRef(';', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+        const QList<QStringView> cookies = cookieStr.split(u';', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
 
         for (const auto &cookie : cookies)
         {
@@ -386,10 +386,10 @@ void WebApplication::configure()
 
     if (pref->isWebUICustomHTTPHeadersEnabled())
     {
-        const QString customHeaders = pref->getWebUICustomHTTPHeaders().trimmed();
-        const QVector<QStringRef> customHeaderLines = customHeaders.splitRef('\n', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
+        const QString customHeaders = pref->getWebUICustomHTTPHeaders();
+        const QList<QStringView> customHeaderLines = QStringView(customHeaders).trimmed().split(u'\n', Qt::SkipEmptyParts);
 
-        for (const QStringRef &line : customHeaderLines)
+        for (const QStringView line : customHeaderLines)
         {
             const int idx = line.indexOf(':');
             if (idx < 0)