diff --git a/src/ffi.rs b/src/ffi.rs
index 749a450..94fc93f 100644
--- a/src/ffi.rs
+++ b/src/ffi.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 #![allow(non_camel_case_types)]
 use core::ffi::{c_char, c_uint};
 
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+extern crate std;
+
 #[repr(C)]
 pub struct ada_url {
     _unused: [u8; 0],
@@ -38,6 +41,26 @@ impl AsRef<str> for ada_owned_string {
     }
 }
 
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+impl ToString for ada_owned_string {
+    fn to_string(&self) -> std::string::String {
+        self.as_ref().to_owned()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for ada_owned_string {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        // @note This is needed because ada_free_owned_string accepts by value
+        let copy = ada_owned_string {
+            data: self.data,
+            length: self.length,
+        };
+        unsafe {
+            ada_free_owned_string(copy);
+        };
+    }
+}
+
 #[repr(C)]
 pub struct ada_url_components {
     pub protocol_end: u32,
diff --git a/src/idna.rs b/src/idna.rs
index 9f035a4..d6d6832 100644
--- a/src/idna.rs
+++ b/src/idna.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+extern crate std;
+
+#[cfg_attr(not(feature = "std"), allow(unused_imports))]
 use crate::ffi;
 
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+use std::string::String;
+
 /// IDNA struct implements the `to_ascii` and `to_unicode` functions from the Unicode Technical
 /// Standard supporting a wide range of systems. It is suitable for URL parsing.
 /// For more information, [read the specification](https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr46/#ToUnicode)
@@ -16,12 +23,9 @@ impl Idna {
     /// assert_eq!(Idna::unicode("xn--meagefactory-m9a.ca"), "meßagefactory.ca");
     /// ```
     #[must_use]
-    pub fn unicode(input: &str) -> &str {
-        unsafe {
-            let out = ffi::ada_idna_to_unicode(input.as_ptr().cast(), input.len());
-            let slice = core::slice::from_raw_parts(out.data.cast(), out.length);
-            core::str::from_utf8_unchecked(slice)
-        }
+    #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+    pub fn unicode(input: &str) -> String {
+        unsafe { ffi::ada_idna_to_unicode(input.as_ptr().cast(), input.len()) }.to_string()
     }
 
     /// Process international domains according to the UTS #46 standard.
@@ -34,26 +38,26 @@ impl Idna {
     /// assert_eq!(Idna::ascii("meßagefactory.ca"), "xn--meagefactory-m9a.ca");
     /// ```
     #[must_use]
-    pub fn ascii(input: &str) -> &str {
-        unsafe {
-            let out = ffi::ada_idna_to_ascii(input.as_ptr().cast(), input.len());
-            let slice = core::slice::from_raw_parts(out.data.cast(), out.length);
-            core::str::from_utf8_unchecked(slice)
-        }
+    #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+    pub fn ascii(input: &str) -> String {
+        unsafe { ffi::ada_idna_to_ascii(input.as_ptr().cast(), input.len()) }.to_string()
     }
 }
 
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
+    #[cfg_attr(not(feature = "std"), allow(unused_imports))]
     use crate::idna::*;
 
     #[test]
     fn unicode_should_work() {
+        #[cfg(feature = "std")]
         assert_eq!(Idna::unicode("xn--meagefactory-m9a.ca"), "meßagefactory.ca");
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn ascii_should_work() {
+        #[cfg(feature = "std")]
         assert_eq!(Idna::ascii("meßagefactory.ca"), "xn--meagefactory-m9a.ca");
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 1bdd2ef..8199db8 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -46,6 +46,12 @@ pub mod ffi;
 mod idna;
 pub use idna::Idna;
 
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+extern crate std;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "std")]
+use std::string::String;
+
 use core::{borrow, ffi::c_uint, fmt, hash, ops};
 use derive_more::Display;
 
@@ -270,12 +276,9 @@ impl Url {
     /// assert_eq!(url.origin(), "https://example.com");
     /// ```
     #[must_use]
-    pub fn origin(&self) -> &str {
-        unsafe {
-            let out = ffi::ada_get_origin(self.0);
-            let slice = core::slice::from_raw_parts(out.data.cast(), out.length);
-            core::str::from_utf8_unchecked(slice)
-        }
+    #[cfg(feature = "std")]
+    pub fn origin(&self) -> String {
+        unsafe { ffi::ada_get_origin(self.0) }.to_string()
     }
 
     /// Return the parsed version of the URL with all components.
@@ -949,7 +952,10 @@ mod test {
             None,
         )
         .expect("Should have parsed a simple url");
+
+        #[cfg(feature = "std")]
         assert_eq!(out.origin(), "https://google.com:9090");
+
         assert_eq!(
             out.href(),
             "https://username:password@google.com:9090/search?query#hash"