diff --git a/backend/src/main/java/com/storycove/service/DatabaseManagementService.java b/backend/src/main/java/com/storycove/service/DatabaseManagementService.java
index 44446f0..547930a 100644
--- a/backend/src/main/java/com/storycove/service/DatabaseManagementService.java
+++ b/backend/src/main/java/com/storycove/service/DatabaseManagementService.java
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Qualifier;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
 import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContextAware;
-import org.springframework.core.io.ByteArrayResource;
 import org.springframework.core.io.Resource;
 import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
 import org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional;
@@ -141,26 +140,48 @@ public class DatabaseManagementService implements ApplicationContextAware {
 
     /**
      * Create a comprehensive backup including database and files in ZIP format
+     * Returns a streaming resource to avoid loading large backups into memory
      */
     public Resource createCompleteBackup() throws SQLException, IOException {
+        // Create temp file with deleteOnExit as safety net
         Path tempZip = Files.createTempFile("storycove-backup", ".zip");
-        
+        tempZip.toFile().deleteOnExit();
+
         try (ZipOutputStream zipOut = new ZipOutputStream(Files.newOutputStream(tempZip))) {
             // 1. Add database dump
             addDatabaseDumpToZip(zipOut);
-            
+
             // 2. Add all image files
             addFilesToZip(zipOut);
-            
+
             // 3. Add metadata
             addMetadataToZip(zipOut);
         }
-        
-        // Return the ZIP file as a resource
-        byte[] zipData = Files.readAllBytes(tempZip);
-        Files.deleteIfExists(tempZip);
-        
-        return new ByteArrayResource(zipData);
+
+        // Return the ZIP file as a FileSystemResource for streaming
+        // This avoids loading the entire file into memory
+        return new org.springframework.core.io.FileSystemResource(tempZip.toFile()) {
+            @Override
+            public InputStream getInputStream() throws IOException {
+                // Wrap the input stream to delete the temp file after it's fully read
+                return new java.io.FilterInputStream(super.getInputStream()) {
+                    @Override
+                    public void close() throws IOException {
+                        try {
+                            super.close();
+                        } finally {
+                            // Clean up temp file after streaming is complete
+                            try {
+                                Files.deleteIfExists(tempZip);
+                            } catch (IOException e) {
+                                // Log but don't fail - deleteOnExit will handle it
+                                System.err.println("Warning: Could not delete temp backup file: " + e.getMessage());
+                            }
+                        }
+                    }
+                };
+            }
+        };
     }
 
     /**
@@ -289,20 +310,34 @@ public class DatabaseManagementService implements ApplicationContextAware {
 
             System.err.println("PostgreSQL backup completed successfully");
 
-            // Read the backup file into memory
-            byte[] backupData = Files.readAllBytes(tempBackupFile);
-            return new ByteArrayResource(backupData);
+            // Return the backup file as a streaming resource to avoid memory issues with large databases
+            tempBackupFile.toFile().deleteOnExit();
+            return new org.springframework.core.io.FileSystemResource(tempBackupFile.toFile()) {
+                @Override
+                public InputStream getInputStream() throws IOException {
+                    // Wrap the input stream to delete the temp file after it's fully read
+                    return new java.io.FilterInputStream(super.getInputStream()) {
+                        @Override
+                        public void close() throws IOException {
+                            try {
+                                super.close();
+                            } finally {
+                                // Clean up temp file after streaming is complete
+                                try {
+                                    Files.deleteIfExists(tempBackupFile);
+                                } catch (IOException e) {
+                                    // Log but don't fail - deleteOnExit will handle it
+                                    System.err.println("Warning: Could not delete temp backup file: " + e.getMessage());
+                                }
+                            }
+                        }
+                    };
+                }
+            };
 
         } catch (InterruptedException e) {
             Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
             throw new RuntimeException("Backup process was interrupted", e);
-        } finally {
-            // Clean up temporary file
-            try {
-                Files.deleteIfExists(tempBackupFile);
-            } catch (IOException e) {
-                System.err.println("Warning: Could not delete temporary backup file: " + e.getMessage());
-            }
         }
     }