diff --git a/kitty/utils.py b/kitty/utils.py
index 3486aa725..3ebcb9e7e 100644
--- a/kitty/utils.py
+++ b/kitty/utils.py
@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ def get_child_status():
         except ChildProcessError:
             del fork_child.pid
 
+
 base_size = sys.getsizeof('')
 
 
@@ -113,9 +114,7 @@ def timeit(name, do_timing=False):
 
 
 def sanitize_title(x):
-    if isinstance(x, bytes):
-        x = x.decode('utf-8', 'replace')
-    return re.sub(r'\s+', ' ', re.sub(r'[\0-\x19]', '', x))
+    return re.sub(br'\s+', b' ', re.sub(br'[\0-\x19]', b'', x))
 
 
 def get_logical_dpi():