diff --git a/bitchat/Protocols/BinaryProtocol.swift b/bitchat/Protocols/BinaryProtocol.swift
index 6bd21b3d..390ec6ef 100644
--- a/bitchat/Protocols/BinaryProtocol.swift
+++ b/bitchat/Protocols/BinaryProtocol.swift
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ struct BinaryProtocol {
         
         // Payload length (2 bytes, big-endian) - includes original size if compressed
         let payloadDataSize = payload.count + (isCompressed ? 2 : 0)
-        let payloadLength = UInt32(payloadDataSize)
+        let payloadLength = UInt16(payloadDataSize)
         
         
         data.append(UInt8((payloadLength >> 8) & 0xFF))