diff -r 7be870f03030 -r 0cc00d7d6215 libpurple/core.c
--- a/libpurple/core.c	Tue May 13 16:22:50 2025 -0500
+++ b/libpurple/core.c	Wed May 14 01:54:28 2025 -0500
@@ -267,10 +267,9 @@
 	GSettings *settings = NULL;
 	gboolean developer_mode = FALSE;
 
-	settings = g_settings_new_with_backend("im.pidgin.Purple.Core",
-	                                       settings_backend);
-
+	settings = purple_core_new_settings("im.pidgin.Purple.Core");
 	developer_mode = g_settings_get_boolean(settings, "developer-mode");
+	g_clear_object(&settings);
 
 	return developer_mode;
 }
@@ -280,6 +279,13 @@
 	return settings_backend;
 }
 
+GSettings *
+purple_core_new_settings(const char *schema_id) {
+	g_return_val_if_fail(schema_id != NULL, NULL);
+
+	return g_settings_new_with_backend(schema_id, settings_backend);
+}
+
 PurpleUi *
 purple_core_get_ui(void) {
 	return _core->ui;