diff --git a/home-mixer/benches/uas_benchmark.rs b/home-mixer/benches/uas_benchmark.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..696577e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/home-mixer/benches/uas_benchmark.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+use std::time::Instant;
+
+// Mock structures to simulate the actual Thrift data structures
+#[derive(Clone)]
+struct AggregatedUserAction {
+    pub impressed_time_ms: Option<i64>,
+    pub data: [u8; 128], // Simulate some payload size
+}
+
+impl Default for AggregatedUserAction {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            impressed_time_ms: None,
+            data: [0; 128],
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Default)]
+struct UserActionSequenceMeta {
+    pub last_modified_epoch_ms: Option<i64>,
+    pub last_kafka_publish_epoch_ms: Option<i64>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Default)]
+struct ThriftUserActionSequence {
+    pub user_actions: Option<Vec<AggregatedUserAction>>,
+    pub metadata: Option<UserActionSequenceMeta>,
+}
+
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// "Before" Implementation (The logic we replaced)
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+fn aggregate_user_action_sequence_old(
+    user_id: i64,
+    uas_thrift: ThriftUserActionSequence,
+) -> Result<usize, String> {
+    // OLD: .clone().unwrap_or_default()
+    // This performs a deep copy of the vector
+    let thrift_user_actions = uas_thrift.user_actions.clone().unwrap_or_default();
+
+    if thrift_user_actions.is_empty() {
+        return Err(format!("No user actions found for user {}", user_id));
+    }
+
+    // Simulate access to metadata
+    let _original_metadata = uas_thrift.metadata.clone().unwrap_or_default();
+
+    // Simulate aggregation work (just counting here)
+    Ok(thrift_user_actions.len())
+}
+
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// "After" Implementation (The optimized logic)
+// -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+fn aggregate_user_action_sequence_new(
+    user_id: i64,
+    uas_thrift: ThriftUserActionSequence,
+) -> Result<usize, String> {
+    // NEW: .unwrap_or_default()
+    // This moves the vector out of the Option, no allocation
+    let thrift_user_actions = uas_thrift.user_actions.unwrap_or_default();
+
+    if thrift_user_actions.is_empty() {
+        return Err(format!("No user actions found for user {}", user_id));
+    }
+
+    // Simulate access to metadata
+    let _original_metadata = uas_thrift.metadata.unwrap_or_default();
+
+    // Simulate aggregation work
+    Ok(thrift_user_actions.len())
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    let iterations = 20_000;
+    let sequence_length = 2_000;
+
+    println!("Preparing data...");
+    println!("  Iterations: {}", iterations);
+    println!("  Sequence Length: {} items", sequence_length);
+    println!("  Payload per item: 128 bytes");
+
+    // Create meaningful data
+    let actions: Vec<AggregatedUserAction> = (0..sequence_length)
+        .map(|_| AggregatedUserAction::default())
+        .collect();
+
+    let meta = UserActionSequenceMeta {
+        last_modified_epoch_ms: Some(123456789),
+        last_kafka_publish_epoch_ms: Some(987654321),
+    };
+
+    let input_template = ThriftUserActionSequence {
+        user_actions: Some(actions),
+        metadata: Some(meta),
+    };
+
+    println!("\nRunning Warmup...");
+    for _ in 0..100 {
+        let _ = aggregate_user_action_sequence_old(1, input_template.clone());
+        let _ = aggregate_user_action_sequence_new(1, input_template.clone());
+    }
+
+    println!("\nBenchmark: 'Before' (With Clone)");
+    let start_old = Instant::now();
+    for _ in 0..iterations {
+        let _ = aggregate_user_action_sequence_old(1, input_template.clone());
+    }
+    let duration_old = start_old.elapsed();
+    println!("  Time: {:?}", duration_old);
+
+    println!("\nBenchmark: 'After' (Without Clone)");
+    let start_new = Instant::now();
+    for _ in 0..iterations {
+        let _ = aggregate_user_action_sequence_new(1, input_template.clone());
+    }
+    let duration_new = start_new.elapsed();
+    println!("  Time: {:?}", duration_new);
+
+    // Calculate stats
+    let old_secs = duration_old.as_secs_f64();
+    let new_secs = duration_new.as_secs_f64();
+    let improvement = (old_secs - new_secs) / old_secs * 100.0;
+
+    println!("\n--------------------------------------------------");
+    println!("RESULTS");
+    println!("--------------------------------------------------");
+    println!("Before: {:.4}s", old_secs);
+    println!("After:  {:.4}s", new_secs);
+    println!("Improvement: {:.2}%", improvement);
+
+    if improvement > 10.0 {
+        println!("\n✅ SUCCESS: Significant performance improvement verified.");
+    } else {
+        println!("\n⚠️ WARNING: Improvement is negligible.");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/home-mixer/query_hydrators/user_action_seq_query_hydrator.rs b/home-mixer/query_hydrators/user_action_seq_query_hydrator.rs
index 7bb3eda..4a6b881 100644
--- a/home-mixer/query_hydrators/user_action_seq_query_hydrator.rs
+++ b/home-mixer/query_hydrators/user_action_seq_query_hydrator.rs
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ impl UserActionSeqQueryHydrator {
         uas_thrift: ThriftUserActionSequence,
     ) -> Result<UserActionSequence, String> {
         // Extract user_actions from thrift sequence
-        let thrift_user_actions = uas_thrift.user_actions.clone().unwrap_or_default();
+        let thrift_user_actions = uas_thrift.user_actions.unwrap_or_default();
         if thrift_user_actions.is_empty() {
             return Err(format!("No user actions found for user {}", user_id));
         }
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ impl UserActionSeqQueryHydrator {
         }
 
         // Convert to proto format
-        let original_metadata = uas_thrift.metadata.clone().unwrap_or_default();
+        let original_metadata = uas_thrift.metadata.unwrap_or_default();
         convert_to_proto_sequence(
             user_id,
             original_metadata,