Smart pointers are pointers that free their allocated memory automatically when they go out of scope. In this way, memory leaks are avoided automatically. Use make_shared and make_unique to create smart pointers.

Example (wrong):

void m() {
  MyObject* ptr = new MyObject(); 
  ptr->DoSomething(); // Use the object in some way
  delete ptr; // Destroy the object. Done with it.
}

Example (wrong):

void m() {
  std::unique_ptr<MyObject> ptr(new MyObject());
  ptr->DoSomething();
}

Example (correct):

void m() {
  auto ptr = std::make_unique<MyObject>();
  ptr->DoSomething();
}