diff --git a/src/tests/test_randomtrackingdict.py b/src/tests/test_randomtrackingdict.py
index 40d2e01b..bb66c0e2 100644
--- a/src/tests/test_randomtrackingdict.py
+++ b/src/tests/test_randomtrackingdict.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ class TestRandomTrackingDict(unittest.TestCase):
     @staticmethod
     def randString():
         """helper function for tests, generates a random string"""
-        retval = b''
+        retval = ''
         for _ in range(32):
             retval += chr(random.randint(0, 255))
         return retval