diff --git a/src/exiv2.cpp b/src/exiv2.cpp
index 9f4dcf5e..dcf86461 100644
--- a/src/exiv2.cpp
+++ b/src/exiv2.cpp
@@ -1523,7 +1523,7 @@ namespace {
                 result.push_back(ch);
                 continue;
             }
-            int escapeStart = i;
+            size_t escapeStart = i;
             if (!(input.length() - 1 > i)) {
                 result.push_back(ch);
                 continue;