diff --git a/src/mbgl/util/mat4.cpp b/src/mbgl/util/mat4.cpp
index 50270d921..cabd8e284 100644
--- a/src/mbgl/util/mat4.cpp
+++ b/src/mbgl/util/mat4.cpp
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ void matrix::copy(mat4& out, const mat4& a) {
 }
 
 void matrix::translate(mat4& out, const mat4& a, float x, float y, float z) {
-    if (a == out) {
+    if (&a == &out) {
         out[12] = a[0] * x + a[4] * y + a[8] * z + a[12];
         out[13] = a[1] * x + a[5] * y + a[9] * z + a[13];
         out[14] = a[2] * x + a[6] * y + a[10] * z + a[14];
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ void matrix::rotate_z(mat4& out, const mat4& a, float rad) {
           a12 = a[6],
           a13 = a[7];
 
-    if (a != out) { // If the source and destination differ, copy the unchanged last row
+    if (&a != &out) { // If the source and destination differ, copy the unchanged last row
         out[8]  = a[8];
         out[9]  = a[9];
         out[10] = a[10];