diff --git a/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.cpp b/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.cpp
index eea226204..6d58d1669 100644
--- a/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.cpp
+++ b/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.cpp
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ Sdl2Application::Sdl2Application(const Arguments& arguments, NoCreateT):
 
     /* Save command-line arguments */
     if(args.value("log") == "verbose") _verboseLog = true;
-    const std::string dpiScaling = args.value("dpi-scaling");
+    const Containers::String dpiScaling = args.value("dpi-scaling");
     if(dpiScaling == "default")
         _commandLineDpiScalingPolicy = Implementation::Sdl2DpiScalingPolicy::Default;
     #ifdef CORRADE_TARGET_APPLE
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ Sdl2Application::Sdl2Application(const Arguments& arguments, NoCreateT):
     else if(dpiScaling == "physical")
         _commandLineDpiScalingPolicy = Implementation::Sdl2DpiScalingPolicy::Physical;
     #endif
-    else if(dpiScaling.find_first_of(" \t\n") != std::string::npos)
+    else if(dpiScaling.find(' ') || dpiScaling.find('\t') || dpiScaling.find('\n'))
         _commandLineDpiScaling = args.value<Vector2>("dpi-scaling");
     else
         _commandLineDpiScaling = Vector2{args.value<Float>("dpi-scaling")};
@@ -322,13 +322,15 @@ Vector2 Sdl2Application::dpiScaling(const Configuration& configuration) {
     #endif
 }
 
-void Sdl2Application::setWindowTitle(const std::string& title) {
+void Sdl2Application::setWindowTitle(const Containers::StringView title) {
     #ifndef CORRADE_TARGET_EMSCRIPTEN
-    SDL_SetWindowTitle(_window, title.data());
+    SDL_SetWindowTitle(_window,
+        Containers::String::nullTerminatedGlobalView(title).data());
     #else
     /* We don't have the _window because SDL_CreateWindow() doesn't exist in
        the SDL1/2 hybrid. But it's not used anyway, so pass nullptr there. */
-    SDL_SetWindowTitle(nullptr, title.data());
+    SDL_SetWindowTitle(nullptr,
+        Containers::String::nullTerminatedGlobalView(title).data());
     #endif
 }
 
@@ -743,7 +745,7 @@ Vector2i Sdl2Application::framebufferSize() const {
 #endif
 
 #ifdef CORRADE_TARGET_EMSCRIPTEN
-void Sdl2Application::setContainerCssClass(const std::string& cssClass) {
+void Sdl2Application::setContainerCssClass(const Containers::StringView cssClass) {
     #pragma GCC diagnostic push
     #pragma GCC diagnostic ignored "-Wdollar-in-identifier-extension"
     EM_ASM_({
@@ -752,7 +754,7 @@ void Sdl2Application::setContainerCssClass(const std::string& cssClass) {
            no way to look for it anymore. */
         (Module['canvas'].closest('.mn-container') ||
          document.getElementById('container')).className = (['mn-container', AsciiToString($0)]).join(' ');
-    }, cssClass.data());
+    }, Containers::String::nullTerminatedGlobalView(cssClass).data());
     #pragma GCC diagnostic pop
 }
 #endif
@@ -1212,11 +1214,11 @@ Sdl2Application::Configuration::Configuration():
 
 Sdl2Application::Configuration::~Configuration() = default;
 
-std::string Sdl2Application::KeyEvent::keyName(const Key key) {
+Containers::StringView Sdl2Application::KeyEvent::keyName(const Key key) {
     return SDL_GetKeyName(SDL_Keycode(key));
 }
 
-std::string Sdl2Application::KeyEvent::keyName() const {
+Containers::StringView Sdl2Application::KeyEvent::keyName() const {
     return keyName(_key);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.h b/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.h
index aa232c3b8..3f46ffdae 100644
--- a/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.h
+++ b/src/Magnum/Platform/Sdl2Application.h
@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@
  * @brief Class @ref Magnum::Platform::Sdl2Application, macro @ref MAGNUM_SDL2APPLICATION_MAIN()
  */
 
-#include <string>
+#include <Corrade/Containers/String.h>
+#ifdef MAGNUM_BUILD_DEPRECATED
+/* Some APIs used to take or return a std::string before */
+#include <Corrade/Containers/StringStl.h>
+#endif
 #include <Corrade/Containers/ArrayView.h>
 #include <Corrade/Containers/EnumSet.h>
 #include <Corrade/Containers/Optional.h>
@@ -805,7 +809,7 @@ class Sdl2Application {
          *
          * The @p title is expected to be encoded in UTF-8.
          */
-        void setWindowTitle(const std::string& title);
+        void setWindowTitle(Containers::StringView title);
 
         #if !defined(CORRADE_TARGET_EMSCRIPTEN) && (SDL_MAJOR_VERSION*1000 + SDL_MINOR_VERSION*100 + SDL_PATCHLEVEL >= 2005 || defined(DOXYGEN_GENERATING_OUTPUT))
         /**
@@ -853,7 +857,7 @@ class Sdl2Application {
          *      @cb{.html} <div class="mn-container"> @ce is not found. This
          *      compatibility is scheduled to be removed in the future.
          */
-        void setContainerCssClass(const std::string& cssClass);
+        void setContainerCssClass(Containers::StringView cssClass);
         #endif
 
         /**
@@ -1819,10 +1823,13 @@ class Sdl2Application::Configuration {
         /**
          * @brief Window title
          *
+         * The returned string view is valid at least until the next call to
+         * @ref setTitle() or until the @ref Sdl2Application is destroyed.
+         *
          * @note Not available in @ref CORRADE_TARGET_EMSCRIPTEN "Emscripten"
          *      and @ref CORRADE_TARGET_IOS "iOS".
          */
-        std::string title() const { return _title; }
+        Containers::StringView title() const { return _title; }
         #endif
 
         /**
@@ -1840,8 +1847,8 @@ class Sdl2Application::Configuration {
          *      application state change) using @ref setWindowTitle().
          */
         #if !defined(CORRADE_TARGET_EMSCRIPTEN) && !defined(CORRADE_TARGET_IOS)
-        Configuration& setTitle(std::string title) {
-            _title = std::move(title);
+        Configuration& setTitle(const Containers::StringView title) {
+            _title = Containers::String::nullTerminatedGlobalView(title);
             return *this;
         }
         #else
@@ -1954,7 +1961,7 @@ class Sdl2Application::Configuration {
 
     private:
         #if !defined(CORRADE_TARGET_EMSCRIPTEN) && !defined(CORRADE_TARGET_IOS)
-        std::string _title;
+        Containers::String _title;
         #endif
         Vector2i _size;
         DpiScalingPolicy _dpiScalingPolicy;
@@ -2469,9 +2476,13 @@ class Sdl2Application::KeyEvent: public Sdl2Application::InputEvent {
          * Human-readable localized UTF-8 name for given @p key, intended for
          * displaying to the user in e.g. key binding configuration. If there
          * is no name for given key, empty string is returned.
+         *
+         * The returned string view is valid at least until the next call
+         * to this function.
+         *
          * @see @ref keyName(Key)
          */
-        static std::string keyName(Key key);
+        static Containers::StringView keyName(Key key);
 
         /**
          * @brief Key
@@ -2487,9 +2498,13 @@ class Sdl2Application::KeyEvent: public Sdl2Application::InputEvent {
          * @ref key(), intended for displaying to the user in e.g.
          * key binding configuration. If there is no name for that key, empty
          * string is returned.
+         *
+         * The returned string view is valid at least until the next call
+         * to this function.
+         *
          * @see @ref keyName(Key)
          */
-        std::string keyName() const;
+        Containers::StringView keyName() const;
 
         /** @brief Modifiers */
         Modifiers modifiers() const { return _modifiers; }