diff --git a/examples/Assets/DemoUtilities.h b/examples/Assets/DemoUtilities.h
index 0893cfc0d7..829a883a87 100644
--- a/examples/Assets/DemoUtilities.h
+++ b/examples/Assets/DemoUtilities.h
@@ -74,11 +74,11 @@ inline File getExamplesDirectory() noexcept
    #endif
 }
 
-inline InputStream* createAssetInputStream (const char* resourcePath)
+inline std::unique_ptr<InputStream> createAssetInputStream (const char* resourcePath)
 {
   #if JUCE_ANDROID
     ZipFile apkZip (File::getSpecialLocation (File::invokedExecutableFile));
-    return apkZip.createStreamForEntry (apkZip.getIndexOfFileName ("assets/" + String (resourcePath)));
+    return std::unique_ptr<InputStream> (apkZip.createStreamForEntry (apkZip.getIndexOfFileName ("assets/" + String (resourcePath))));
   #else
    #if JUCE_IOS
     auto assetsDir = File::getSpecialLocation (File::currentExecutableFile)
diff --git a/examples/Audio/AudioSynthesiserDemo.h b/examples/Audio/AudioSynthesiserDemo.h
index 644f061f83..8acdcf705e 100644
--- a/examples/Audio/AudioSynthesiserDemo.h
+++ b/examples/Audio/AudioSynthesiserDemo.h
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ struct SynthAudioSource  : public AudioSource
     {
         WavAudioFormat wavFormat;
 
-        std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> audioReader (wavFormat.createReaderFor (createAssetInputStream ("cello.wav"), true));
+        std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> audioReader (wavFormat.createReaderFor (createAssetInputStream ("cello.wav").release(), true));
 
         BigInteger allNotes;
         allNotes.setRange (0, 128, true);
diff --git a/examples/GUI/GraphicsDemo.h b/examples/GUI/GraphicsDemo.h
index d5fecd464f..a870a4f261 100644
--- a/examples/GUI/GraphicsDemo.h
+++ b/examples/GUI/GraphicsDemo.h
@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ public:
     {
         lastSVGLoadTime = Time::getCurrentTime();
 
-        ZipFile icons (createAssetInputStream ("icons.zip"), true);
+        ZipFile icons (createAssetInputStream ("icons.zip").release(), true);
 
         // Load a random SVG file from our embedded icons.zip file.
         const std::unique_ptr<InputStream> svgFileStream (icons.createStreamForEntry (Random::getSystemRandom().nextInt (icons.getNumEntries())));
diff --git a/examples/GUI/WidgetsDemo.h b/examples/GUI/WidgetsDemo.h
index 9ee29bccb9..8a99e440cd 100644
--- a/examples/GUI/WidgetsDemo.h
+++ b/examples/GUI/WidgetsDemo.h
@@ -667,7 +667,7 @@ private:
             if (iconsFromZipFile.size() == 0)
             {
                 // If we've not already done so, load all the images from the zip file..
-                ZipFile icons (createAssetInputStream ("icons.zip"), true);
+                ZipFile icons (createAssetInputStream ("icons.zip").release(), true);
 
                 for (int i = 0; i < icons.getNumEntries(); ++i)
                 {
diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_AiffAudioFormat.cpp b/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_AiffAudioFormat.cpp
index a1264aa22c..7d750c9b7f 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_AiffAudioFormat.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_AiffAudioFormat.cpp
@@ -976,7 +976,7 @@ AudioFormatReader* AiffAudioFormat::createReaderFor (InputStream* sourceStream,
 
 MemoryMappedAudioFormatReader* AiffAudioFormat::createMemoryMappedReader (const File& file)
 {
-    return createMemoryMappedReader (file.createInputStream());
+    return createMemoryMappedReader (file.createInputStream().release());
 }
 
 MemoryMappedAudioFormatReader* AiffAudioFormat::createMemoryMappedReader (FileInputStream* fin)
diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_OggVorbisAudioFormat.cpp b/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_OggVorbisAudioFormat.cpp
index ebf1c012c2..f824012e74 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_OggVorbisAudioFormat.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_OggVorbisAudioFormat.cpp
@@ -494,9 +494,9 @@ StringArray OggVorbisAudioFormat::getQualityOptions()
 
 int OggVorbisAudioFormat::estimateOggFileQuality (const File& source)
 {
-    if (auto* in = source.createInputStream())
+    if (auto in = source.createInputStream())
     {
-        if (auto r = std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> (createReaderFor (in, true)))
+        if (auto r = std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> (createReaderFor (in.release(), true)))
         {
             auto lengthSecs = r->lengthInSamples / r->sampleRate;
             auto approxBitsPerSecond = (int) (source.getSize() * 8 / lengthSecs);
diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_WavAudioFormat.cpp b/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_WavAudioFormat.cpp
index d49315ccbb..dd03c70d9d 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_WavAudioFormat.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_formats/codecs/juce_WavAudioFormat.cpp
@@ -1703,7 +1703,7 @@ AudioFormatReader* WavAudioFormat::createReaderFor (InputStream* sourceStream, b
 
 MemoryMappedAudioFormatReader* WavAudioFormat::createMemoryMappedReader (const File& file)
 {
-    return createMemoryMappedReader (file.createInputStream());
+    return createMemoryMappedReader (file.createInputStream().release());
 }
 
 MemoryMappedAudioFormatReader* WavAudioFormat::createMemoryMappedReader (FileInputStream* fin)
@@ -1748,7 +1748,7 @@ namespace WavFileHelpers
         TemporaryFile tempFile (file);
         WavAudioFormat wav;
 
-        std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> reader (wav.createReaderFor (file.createInputStream(), true));
+        std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> reader (wav.createReaderFor (file.createInputStream().release(), true));
 
         if (reader != nullptr)
         {
@@ -1781,7 +1781,7 @@ bool WavAudioFormat::replaceMetadataInFile (const File& wavFile, const StringPai
 {
     using namespace WavFileHelpers;
 
-    std::unique_ptr<WavAudioFormatReader> reader (static_cast<WavAudioFormatReader*> (createReaderFor (wavFile.createInputStream(), true)));
+    std::unique_ptr<WavAudioFormatReader> reader (static_cast<WavAudioFormatReader*> (createReaderFor (wavFile.createInputStream().release(), true)));
 
     if (reader != nullptr)
     {
diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.cpp b/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.cpp
index 768271995a..17e3e09be7 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.cpp
@@ -126,14 +126,14 @@ AudioFormatReader* AudioFormatManager::createReaderFor (const File& file)
 
     for (auto* af : knownFormats)
         if (af->canHandleFile (file))
-            if (auto* in = file.createInputStream())
-                if (auto* r = af->createReaderFor (in, true))
+            if (auto in = file.createInputStream())
+                if (auto* r = af->createReaderFor (in.release(), true))
                     return r;
 
     return nullptr;
 }
 
-AudioFormatReader* AudioFormatManager::createReaderFor (InputStream* audioFileStream)
+AudioFormatReader* AudioFormatManager::createReaderFor (std::unique_ptr<InputStream> audioFileStream)
 {
     // you need to actually register some formats before the manager can
     // use them to open a file!
@@ -141,22 +141,21 @@ AudioFormatReader* AudioFormatManager::createReaderFor (InputStream* audioFileSt
 
     if (audioFileStream != nullptr)
     {
-        std::unique_ptr<InputStream> in (audioFileStream);
-        auto originalStreamPos = in->getPosition();
+        auto originalStreamPos = audioFileStream->getPosition();
 
         for (auto* af : knownFormats)
         {
-            if (auto* r = af->createReaderFor (in.get(), false))
+            if (auto* r = af->createReaderFor (audioFileStream.get(), false))
             {
-                in.release();
+                audioFileStream.release();
                 return r;
             }
 
-            in->setPosition (originalStreamPos);
+            audioFileStream->setPosition (originalStreamPos);
 
             // the stream that is passed-in must be capable of being repositioned so
             // that all the formats can have a go at opening it.
-            jassert (in->getPosition() == originalStreamPos);
+            jassert (audioFileStream->getPosition() == originalStreamPos);
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.h b/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.h
index 36140e839f..bbc5a4bfdd 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.h
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_formats/format/juce_AudioFormatManager.h
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ public:
         If none of the registered formats can open the stream, it'll return nullptr.
         If it returns a reader, it's the caller's responsibility to delete the reader.
     */
-    AudioFormatReader* createReaderFor (InputStream* audioFileStream);
+    AudioFormatReader* createReaderFor (std::unique_ptr<InputStream> audioFileStream);
 
 private:
     //==============================================================================
diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_utils/gui/juce_AudioThumbnail.cpp b/modules/juce_audio_utils/gui/juce_AudioThumbnail.cpp
index 6d289d114e..ccec9c1bf9 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_utils/gui/juce_AudioThumbnail.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_utils/gui/juce_AudioThumbnail.cpp
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ private:
     {
         if (reader == nullptr && source != nullptr)
             if (auto* audioFileStream = source->createInputStream())
-                reader.reset (owner.formatManagerToUse.createReaderFor (audioFileStream));
+                reader.reset (owner.formatManagerToUse.createReaderFor (std::unique_ptr<InputStream> (audioFileStream)));
     }
 
     bool readNextBlock()
diff --git a/modules/juce_audio_utils/players/juce_SoundPlayer.cpp b/modules/juce_audio_utils/players/juce_SoundPlayer.cpp
index 9df3ff3b19..6b5c8c0c87 100644
--- a/modules/juce_audio_utils/players/juce_SoundPlayer.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_audio_utils/players/juce_SoundPlayer.cpp
@@ -174,8 +174,8 @@ void SoundPlayer::play (const void* resourceData, size_t resourceSize)
 {
     if (resourceData != nullptr && resourceSize > 0)
     {
-        MemoryInputStream* mem = new MemoryInputStream (resourceData, resourceSize, false);
-        play (formatManager.createReaderFor (mem), true);
+        auto mem = std::make_unique<MemoryInputStream> (resourceData, resourceSize, false);
+        play (formatManager.createReaderFor (std::move (mem)), true);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.cpp b/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.cpp
index 7041ecd886..a7eab140fc 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.cpp
@@ -726,22 +726,24 @@ bool File::startAsProcess (const String& parameters) const
 }
 
 //==============================================================================
-FileInputStream* File::createInputStream() const
+std::unique_ptr<FileInputStream> File::createInputStream() const
 {
-    std::unique_ptr<FileInputStream> fin (new FileInputStream (*this));
+    auto fin = std::make_unique<FileInputStream> (*this);
 
     if (fin->openedOk())
-        return fin.release();
+        return fin;
 
     return nullptr;
 }
 
-FileOutputStream* File::createOutputStream (size_t bufferSize) const
+std::unique_ptr<FileOutputStream> File::createOutputStream (size_t bufferSize) const
 {
-    std::unique_ptr<FileOutputStream> out (new FileOutputStream (*this, bufferSize));
+    auto fout = std::make_unique<FileOutputStream> (*this, bufferSize);
 
-    return out->failedToOpen() ? nullptr
-                               : out.release();
+    if (fout->openedOk())
+        return fout;
+
+    return nullptr;
 }
 
 //==============================================================================
@@ -753,8 +755,8 @@ bool File::appendData (const void* const dataToAppend,
     if (numberOfBytes == 0)
         return true;
 
-    FileOutputStream out (*this, 8192);
-    return out.openedOk() && out.write (dataToAppend, numberOfBytes);
+    FileOutputStream fout (*this, 8192);
+    return fout.openedOk() && fout.write (dataToAppend, numberOfBytes);
 }
 
 bool File::replaceWithData (const void* const dataToWrite,
@@ -770,12 +772,12 @@ bool File::replaceWithData (const void* const dataToWrite,
 
 bool File::appendText (const String& text, bool asUnicode, bool writeHeaderBytes, const char* lineFeed) const
 {
-    FileOutputStream out (*this);
+    FileOutputStream fout (*this);
 
-    if (out.failedToOpen())
+    if (fout.failedToOpen())
         return false;
 
-    return out.writeText (text, asUnicode, writeHeaderBytes, lineFeed);
+    return fout.writeText (text, asUnicode, writeHeaderBytes, lineFeed);
 }
 
 bool File::replaceWithText (const String& textToWrite, bool asUnicode, bool writeHeaderBytes, const char* lineFeed) const
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.h b/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.h
index e52b138a75..6a09f7d8e6 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.h
+++ b/modules/juce_core/files/juce_File.h
@@ -622,7 +622,7 @@ public:
                     start of the file), or nullptr if the file can't be opened for some reason
         @see createOutputStream, loadFileAsData
     */
-    FileInputStream* createInputStream() const;
+    std::unique_ptr<FileInputStream> createInputStream() const;
 
     /** Creates a stream to write to this file.
 
@@ -655,7 +655,7 @@ public:
                     end of the file), or nullptr if the file can't be opened for some reason
         @see createInputStream, appendData, appendText
     */
-    FileOutputStream* createOutputStream (size_t bufferSize = 0x8000) const;
+    std::unique_ptr<FileOutputStream> createOutputStream (size_t bufferSize = 0x8000) const;
 
     //==============================================================================
     /** Loads a file's contents into memory as a block of binary data.
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.cpp b/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.cpp
index 56f2a3cecb..7b532a7a48 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.cpp
@@ -655,21 +655,21 @@ private:
 #endif
 
 //==============================================================================
-InputStream* URL::createInputStream (bool usePostCommand,
-                                     OpenStreamProgressCallback* progressCallback,
-                                     void* progressCallbackContext,
-                                     String headers,
-                                     int timeOutMs,
-                                     StringPairArray* responseHeaders,
-                                     int* statusCode,
-                                     int numRedirectsToFollow,
-                                     String httpRequestCmd) const
+std::unique_ptr<InputStream> URL::createInputStream (bool usePostCommand,
+                                                     OpenStreamProgressCallback* progressCallback,
+                                                     void* progressCallbackContext,
+                                                     String headers,
+                                                     int timeOutMs,
+                                                     StringPairArray* responseHeaders,
+                                                     int* statusCode,
+                                                     int numRedirectsToFollow,
+                                                     String httpRequestCmd) const
 {
     if (isLocalFile())
     {
        #if JUCE_IOS
         // We may need to refresh the embedded bookmark.
-        return new iOSFileStreamWrapper<FileInputStream> (const_cast<URL&>(*this));
+        return std::make_unique<iOSFileStreamWrapper<FileInputStream>> (const_cast<URL&>(*this));
        #else
         return getLocalFile().createInputStream();
        #endif
@@ -717,27 +717,29 @@ InputStream* URL::createInputStream (bool usePostCommand,
     if (! success || wi->isError())
         return nullptr;
 
-    return wi.release();
+    // Older GCCs complain about binding unique_ptr<WebInputStream>&& to unique_ptr<InputStream>
+    // if we just `return wi` here.
+    return std::unique_ptr<InputStream> (std::move (wi));
 }
 
 #if JUCE_ANDROID
 OutputStream* juce_CreateContentURIOutputStream (const URL&);
 #endif
 
-OutputStream* URL::createOutputStream() const
+std::unique_ptr<OutputStream> URL::createOutputStream() const
 {
     if (isLocalFile())
     {
        #if JUCE_IOS
         // We may need to refresh the embedded bookmark.
-        return new iOSFileStreamWrapper<FileOutputStream> (const_cast<URL&> (*this));
+        return std::make_unique<iOSFileStreamWrapper<FileOutputStream>> (const_cast<URL&> (*this));
        #else
-        return new FileOutputStream (getLocalFile());
+        return std::make_unique<FileOutputStream> (getLocalFile());
        #endif
     }
 
    #if JUCE_ANDROID
-    return juce_CreateContentURIOutputStream (*this);
+    return std::unique_ptr<OutputStream> (juce_CreateContentURIOutputStream (*this));
    #else
     return nullptr;
    #endif
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.h b/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.h
index 6e60882222..38b4621985 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.h
+++ b/modules/juce_core/network/juce_URL.h
@@ -340,22 +340,22 @@ public:
         @returns    an input stream that the caller must delete, or a null pointer if there was an
                     error trying to open it.
      */
-    InputStream* createInputStream (bool doPostLikeRequest,
-                                    OpenStreamProgressCallback* progressCallback = nullptr,
-                                    void* progressCallbackContext = nullptr,
-                                    String extraHeaders = {},
-                                    int connectionTimeOutMs = 0,
-                                    StringPairArray* responseHeaders = nullptr,
-                                    int* statusCode = nullptr,
-                                    int numRedirectsToFollow = 5,
-                                    String httpRequestCmd = {}) const;
+    std::unique_ptr<InputStream> createInputStream (bool doPostLikeRequest,
+                                                    OpenStreamProgressCallback* progressCallback = nullptr,
+                                                    void* progressCallbackContext = nullptr,
+                                                    String extraHeaders = {},
+                                                    int connectionTimeOutMs = 0,
+                                                    StringPairArray* responseHeaders = nullptr,
+                                                    int* statusCode = nullptr,
+                                                    int numRedirectsToFollow = 5,
+                                                    String httpRequestCmd = {}) const;
 
     /** Attempts to open an output stream to a URL for writing
 
         This method can only be used for certain scheme types such as local files
         and content:// URIs on Android.
     */
-    OutputStream* createOutputStream() const;
+    std::unique_ptr<OutputStream> createOutputStream() const;
 
     //==============================================================================
     /** Represents a download task.
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_FileInputSource.cpp b/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_FileInputSource.cpp
index feb4081a8d..ed58508afb 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_FileInputSource.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_FileInputSource.cpp
@@ -34,12 +34,12 @@ FileInputSource::~FileInputSource()
 
 InputStream* FileInputSource::createInputStream()
 {
-    return file.createInputStream();
+    return file.createInputStream().release();
 }
 
 InputStream* FileInputSource::createInputStreamFor (const String& relatedItemPath)
 {
-    return file.getSiblingFile (relatedItemPath).createInputStream();
+    return file.getSiblingFile (relatedItemPath).createInputStream().release();
 }
 
 int64 FileInputSource::hashCode() const
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_URLInputSource.cpp b/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_URLInputSource.cpp
index 0ecddbb9f4..e4b5105c9c 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_URLInputSource.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_core/streams/juce_URLInputSource.cpp
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ URLInputSource::~URLInputSource()
 
 InputStream* URLInputSource::createInputStream()
 {
-    return u.createInputStream (false);
+    return u.createInputStream (false).release();
 }
 
 InputStream* URLInputSource::createInputStreamFor (const String& relatedItemPath)
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ InputStream* URLInputSource::createInputStreamFor (const String& relatedItemPath
     auto parent = sub.containsChar (L'/') ? sub.upToLastOccurrenceOf ("/", false, false)
                                           : String ();
 
-    return u.withNewSubPath (parent).getChildURL (relatedItemPath).createInputStream (false);
+    return u.withNewSubPath (parent).getChildURL (relatedItemPath).createInputStream (false).release();
 }
 
 int64 URLInputSource::hashCode() const
diff --git a/modules/juce_core/zip/juce_ZipFile.cpp b/modules/juce_core/zip/juce_ZipFile.cpp
index 4c4922553b..37692d0d44 100644
--- a/modules/juce_core/zip/juce_ZipFile.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_core/zip/juce_ZipFile.cpp
@@ -541,7 +541,7 @@ private:
     {
         if (stream == nullptr)
         {
-            stream.reset (file.createInputStream());
+            stream = file.createInputStream();
 
             if (stream == nullptr)
                 return false;
diff --git a/modules/juce_dsp/frequency/juce_Convolution.cpp b/modules/juce_dsp/frequency/juce_Convolution.cpp
index 95e051088c..fb2a721367 100644
--- a/modules/juce_dsp/frequency/juce_Convolution.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_dsp/frequency/juce_Convolution.cpp
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ struct ConvolutionEngine
 
         numInputSegments = (blockSize > 128 ? numSegments : 3 * numSegments);
 
-        FFTobject.reset (new FFT (roundToInt (std::log2 (FFTSize))));
+        FFTobject = std::make_unique<FFT> (roundToInt (std::log2 (FFTSize)));
 
         bufferInput.setSize      (1, static_cast<int> (FFTSize));
         bufferOutput.setSize     (1, static_cast<int> (FFTSize * 2));
@@ -803,13 +803,11 @@ private:
     {
         if (currentInfo.sourceType == SourceType::sourceBinaryData)
         {
-            if (! (copyAudioStreamInAudioBuffer (new MemoryInputStream (currentInfo.sourceData, (size_t) currentInfo.sourceDataSize, false))))
-                return;
+            copyAudioStreamInAudioBuffer (std::make_unique<MemoryInputStream> (currentInfo.sourceData, (size_t) currentInfo.sourceDataSize, false));
         }
         else if (currentInfo.sourceType == SourceType::sourceAudioFile)
         {
-            if (! (copyAudioStreamInAudioBuffer (new FileInputStream (currentInfo.fileImpulseResponse))))
-                return;
+            copyAudioStreamInAudioBuffer (std::make_unique<FileInputStream> (currentInfo.fileImpulseResponse));
         }
         else if (currentInfo.sourceType == SourceType::sourceAudioBuffer)
         {
@@ -847,11 +845,11 @@ private:
     /** Converts the data from an audio file into a stereo audio buffer of floats, and
         performs resampling if necessary.
     */
-    bool copyAudioStreamInAudioBuffer (InputStream* stream)
+    bool copyAudioStreamInAudioBuffer (std::unique_ptr<InputStream> stream)
     {
         AudioFormatManager manager;
         manager.registerBasicFormats();
-        std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> formatReader (manager.createReaderFor (stream));
+        std::unique_ptr<AudioFormatReader> formatReader (manager.createReaderFor (std::move (stream)));
 
         if (formatReader != nullptr)
         {
diff --git a/modules/juce_gui_basics/drawables/juce_SVGParser.cpp b/modules/juce_gui_basics/drawables/juce_SVGParser.cpp
index d425a89308..2d003e3565 100644
--- a/modules/juce_gui_basics/drawables/juce_SVGParser.cpp
+++ b/modules/juce_gui_basics/drawables/juce_SVGParser.cpp
@@ -1197,7 +1197,7 @@ private:
             auto linkedFile = originalFile.getParentDirectory().getChildFile (link);
 
             if (linkedFile.existsAsFile())
-                inputStream.reset (linkedFile.createInputStream());
+                inputStream = linkedFile.createInputStream();
         }
 
         if (inputStream != nullptr)