diff --git a/src/misc_tools.c b/src/misc_tools.c
index 005c8da..774e73e 100644
--- a/src/misc_tools.c
+++ b/src/misc_tools.c
@@ -117,10 +117,8 @@ void alert_window(ToxWindow *self)
 /* case-insensitive string compare function for use with qsort - same return logic as strcmp */
 int name_compare(const void *nick1, const void *nick2)
 {
-    int len_s = strlen((const char *) nick1);
-    int len_t = strlen((const char *) nick2);
-    char s[len_s];
-    char t[len_t];
+    char s[strlen((const char *) nick1) + 1];
+    char t[strlen((const char *) nick2) + 1];
     strcpy(s, (const char *) nick1);
     strcpy(t, (const char *) nick2);