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Memory Leak Issues with ViewModel and LiveData in Android 13 when using ViewBinding

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android viewmodel livedata viewbinding memoryleak Kotlin

I'm stuck on something that should probably be simple. I'm encountering a memory leak in my Android application that uses ViewModel and LiveData in conjunction with ViewBinding. After navigating away from a Fragment that utilizes these components, I observe that the memory usage remains high. I'm using Android 13 and have implemented ViewBinding to inflate my layout. Despite following best practices, such as clearing references in the ViewModel's onCleared() method, the memory does not seem to be released. Here’s a snippet of my ViewModel: ```kotlin class MyViewModel : ViewModel() { private val _data = MutableLiveData<List<MyData>>() val data: LiveData<List<MyData>> get() = _data fun fetchData() { // Fetch data and set to _data } override fun onCleared() { super.onCleared() // Attempting to clear references } } ``` And in my Fragment: ```kotlin class MyFragment : Fragment() { private var _binding: FragmentMyBinding? = null private val binding get() = _binding!! private lateinit var viewModel: MyViewModel override fun onCreateView( inflater: LayoutInflater, container: ViewGroup?, savedInstanceState: Bundle? ): View { _binding = FragmentMyBinding.inflate(inflater, container, false) return binding.root } override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) { viewModel = ViewModelProvider(this).get(MyViewModel::class.java) viewModel.data.observe(viewLifecycleOwner) { data -> // Update UI } } override fun onDestroyView() { super.onDestroyView() _binding = null // Clearing binding reference } } ``` I’ve tried using the Android Profiler to track memory allocations and noticed that the Fragment instance remains in memory even after it is removed from the back stack. I've also ensured that I’m observing LiveData in the context of the ViewLifecycleOwner. What could be causing this leak? Are there any additional steps I should take to mitigate this issue? I'm working on a service that needs to handle this. Any ideas what could be causing this?