diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_anonymous_attribute_id.hh b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_anonymous_attribute_id.hh
index 7e4ca4b7afd..d9024ed9c05 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_anonymous_attribute_id.hh
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_anonymous_attribute_id.hh
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@
 
 #include <atomic>
 
+#include "BLI_implicit_sharing_ptr.hh"
 #include "BLI_set.hh"
 #include "BLI_string_ref.hh"
-#include "BLI_user_counter.hh"
 
 namespace blender::bke {
 
@@ -32,10 +32,7 @@ namespace blender::bke {
  * because that is not available in C code. If possible, the #AutoAnonymousAttributeID wrapper
  * should be used to avoid manual reference counting in C++ code.
  */
-class AnonymousAttributeID {
- private:
-  mutable std::atomic<int> users_ = 1;
-
+class AnonymousAttributeID : public ImplicitSharingMixin {
  protected:
   std::string name_;
 
@@ -49,22 +46,15 @@ class AnonymousAttributeID {
 
   virtual std::string user_name() const;
 
-  void user_add() const
+ private:
+  void delete_self() override
   {
-    users_.fetch_add(1);
-  }
-
-  void user_remove() const
-  {
-    const int new_users = users_.fetch_sub(1) - 1;
-    if (new_users == 0) {
-      MEM_delete(this);
-    }
+    MEM_delete(this);
   }
 };
 
 /** Wrapper for #AnonymousAttributeID that avoids manual reference counting. */
-using AutoAnonymousAttributeID = UserCounter<const AnonymousAttributeID>;
+using AutoAnonymousAttributeID = ImplicitSharingPtr<const AnonymousAttributeID>;
 
 /**
  * A set of anonymous attribute names that is passed around in geometry nodes.
diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_geometry_set.hh b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_geometry_set.hh
index 72f77c889c1..a70fa8cfb4e 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_geometry_set.hh
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_geometry_set.hh
@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@
 
 #include "BLI_function_ref.hh"
 #include "BLI_map.hh"
-#include "BLI_math_vector_types.hh"
-#include "BLI_user_counter.hh"
 #include "BLI_vector_set.hh"
 
 #include "BKE_attribute.hh"
@@ -40,18 +38,13 @@ class CurvesEditHints;
 class Instances;
 }  // namespace blender::bke
 
-class GeometryComponent;
-
 /**
- * This is the base class for specialized geometry component types. A geometry component handles
- * a user count to allow avoiding duplication when it is wrapped with #UserCounter. It also handles
- * the attribute API, which generalizes storing and modifying generic information on a geometry.
+ * This is the base class for specialized geometry component types. A geometry component uses
+ * implicit sharing to avoid read-only copies. It also integrates with attribute API, which
+ * generalizes storing and modifying generic information on a geometry.
  */
-class GeometryComponent {
+class GeometryComponent : public blender::ImplicitSharingMixin {
  private:
-  /* The reference count has two purposes. When it becomes zero, the component is freed. When it is
-   * larger than one, the component becomes immutable. */
-  mutable std::atomic<int> users_ = 1;
   GeometryComponentType type_;
 
  public:
@@ -77,13 +70,12 @@ class GeometryComponent {
   virtual bool owns_direct_data() const = 0;
   virtual void ensure_owns_direct_data() = 0;
 
-  void user_add() const;
-  void user_remove() const;
-  bool is_mutable() const;
-
   GeometryComponentType type() const;
 
   virtual bool is_empty() const;
+
+ private:
+  void delete_self() override;
 };
 
 template<typename T>
@@ -109,7 +101,7 @@ inline constexpr bool is_geometry_component_v = std::is_base_of_v<GeometryCompon
  */
 struct GeometrySet {
  private:
-  using GeometryComponentPtr = blender::UserCounter<class GeometryComponent>;
+  using GeometryComponentPtr = blender::ImplicitSharingPtr<class GeometryComponent>;
   /* Indexed by #GeometryComponentType. */
   std::array<GeometryComponentPtr, GEO_COMPONENT_TYPE_ENUM_SIZE> components_;
 
diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/customdata.cc b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/customdata.cc
index a49ff002d91..72636e2176c 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/customdata.cc
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/customdata.cc
@@ -2273,7 +2273,7 @@ bool CustomData_merge(const CustomData *source,
           layer->anonymous_id = nullptr;
         }
         else {
-          layer->anonymous_id->user_add();
+          layer->anonymous_id->add_user();
         }
       }
       if (alloctype == CD_ASSIGN) {
@@ -2365,7 +2365,7 @@ static void customData_free_layer__internal(CustomDataLayer *layer, const int to
   const LayerTypeInfo *typeInfo;
 
   if (layer->anonymous_id != nullptr) {
-    layer->anonymous_id->user_remove();
+    layer->anonymous_id->remove_user_and_delete_if_last();
     layer->anonymous_id = nullptr;
   }
   if (!(layer->flag & CD_FLAG_NOFREE) && layer->data) {
@@ -2956,7 +2956,7 @@ void *CustomData_add_layer_anonymous(CustomData *data,
     return nullptr;
   }
 
-  anonymous_id->user_add();
+  anonymous_id->add_user();
   layer->anonymous_id = anonymous_id;
   return layer->data;
 }
diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/geometry_set.cc b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/geometry_set.cc
index 3f5fadbe636..713034e4f16 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/geometry_set.cc
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/geometry_set.cc
@@ -84,26 +84,6 @@ std::optional<blender::bke::MutableAttributeAccessor> GeometryComponent::attribu
   return std::nullopt;
 }
 
-void GeometryComponent::user_add() const
-{
-  users_.fetch_add(1);
-}
-
-void GeometryComponent::user_remove() const
-{
-  const int new_users = users_.fetch_sub(1) - 1;
-  if (new_users == 0) {
-    delete this;
-  }
-}
-
-bool GeometryComponent::is_mutable() const
-{
-  /* If the item is shared, it is read-only. */
-  /* The user count can be 0, when this is called from the destructor. */
-  return users_ <= 1;
-}
-
 GeometryComponentType GeometryComponent::type() const
 {
   return type_;
@@ -114,6 +94,11 @@ bool GeometryComponent::is_empty() const
   return false;
 }
 
+void GeometryComponent::delete_self()
+{
+  delete this;
+}
+
 /** \} */
 
 /* -------------------------------------------------------------------- */
@@ -198,7 +183,7 @@ void GeometrySet::remove_geometry_during_modify()
 void GeometrySet::add(const GeometryComponent &component)
 {
   BLI_assert(!components_[component.type()]);
-  component.user_add();
+  component.add_user();
   components_[component.type()] = const_cast<GeometryComponent *>(&component);
 }
 
diff --git a/source/blender/blenlib/BLI_implicit_sharing.hh b/source/blender/blenlib/BLI_implicit_sharing.hh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7b47830aadf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/blender/blenlib/BLI_implicit_sharing.hh
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later */
+
+#pragma once
+
+/** \file
+ * \ingroup bli
+ */
+
+#include <atomic>
+
+#include "BLI_compiler_attrs.h"
+#include "BLI_utildefines.h"
+#include "BLI_utility_mixins.hh"
+
+namespace blender {
+
+/**
+ * #ImplicitSharingInfo is the core data structure for implicit sharing in Blender. Implicit
+ * sharing is a technique that avoids copying data when it is not necessary. This results in better
+ * memory usage and performance. Only read-only data can be shared, because otherwise multiple
+ * owners might want to change the data in conflicting ways.
+ *
+ * To determine whether data is shared, #ImplicitSharingInfo keeps a user count. If the count is 1,
+ * the data only has a single owner and is therefore mutable. If some code wants to modify data
+ * that is currently shared, it has to make a copy first.
+ * This behavior is also called "copy on write".
+ *
+ * In addition to containing the reference count, #ImplicitSharingInfo also knows how to destruct
+ * the referenced data. This is important because the code freeing the data in the end might not
+ * know how it was allocated (for example, it doesn't know whether an array was allocated using the
+ * system or guarded allocator).
+ *
+ * #ImplicitSharingInfo can be used in two ways:
+ * - It can be allocated separately from the referenced data. This is used when the shared data is
+ *   e.g. a plain data array.
+ * - It can be embedded into another struct. For that it's best to use #ImplicitSharingMixin.
+ */
+class ImplicitSharingInfo : NonCopyable, NonMovable {
+ private:
+  mutable std::atomic<int> users_;
+
+ public:
+  ImplicitSharingInfo(const int initial_users) : users_(initial_users)
+  {
+  }
+
+  virtual ~ImplicitSharingInfo()
+  {
+    BLI_assert(this->is_mutable());
+  }
+
+  /** True if there are other const references to the resource, meaning it cannot be modified. */
+  bool is_shared() const
+  {
+    return users_.load(std::memory_order_relaxed) >= 2;
+  }
+
+  /** Whether the resource can be modified without a copy because there is only one owner. */
+  bool is_mutable() const
+  {
+    return !this->is_shared();
+  }
+
+  /** Call when a the data has a new additional owner. */
+  void add_user() const
+  {
+    users_.fetch_add(1, std::memory_order_relaxed);
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Call when the data is no longer needed. This might just decrement the user count, or it might
+   * also delete the data if this was the last user.
+   */
+  void remove_user_and_delete_if_last() const
+  {
+    const int old_user_count = users_.fetch_sub(1, std::memory_order_acq_rel);
+    BLI_assert(old_user_count >= 1);
+    const bool was_last_user = old_user_count == 1;
+    if (was_last_user) {
+      const_cast<ImplicitSharingInfo *>(this)->delete_self_with_data();
+    }
+  }
+
+ private:
+  /** Has to free the #ImplicitSharingInfo and the referenced data. */
+  virtual void delete_self_with_data() = 0;
+};
+
+/**
+ * Makes it easy to embed implicit-sharing behavior into a struct. Structs that derive from this
+ * class can be used with #ImplicitSharingPtr.
+ */
+class ImplicitSharingMixin : public ImplicitSharingInfo {
+ public:
+  ImplicitSharingMixin() : ImplicitSharingInfo(1)
+  {
+  }
+
+ private:
+  void delete_self_with_data() override
+  {
+    /* Can't use `delete this` here, because we don't know what allocator was used. */
+    this->delete_self();
+  }
+
+  virtual void delete_self() = 0;
+};
+
+}  // namespace blender
diff --git a/source/blender/blenlib/BLI_user_counter.hh b/source/blender/blenlib/BLI_implicit_sharing_ptr.hh
similarity index 53%
rename from source/blender/blenlib/BLI_user_counter.hh
rename to source/blender/blenlib/BLI_implicit_sharing_ptr.hh
index 11cd845ff53..8e726ac97ce 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenlib/BLI_user_counter.hh
+++ b/source/blender/blenlib/BLI_implicit_sharing_ptr.hh
@@ -6,59 +6,60 @@
  * \ingroup bli
  */
 
-#include <atomic>
+#include "BLI_implicit_sharing.hh"
 
 namespace blender {
 
 /**
- * A simple automatic reference counter. It is similar to std::shared_ptr, but expects that the
- * reference count is inside the object.
+ * #ImplicitSharingPtr is a smart pointer that manages implicit sharing. It's designed to work with
+ * types that derive from #ImplicitSharingMixin. It is fairly similar to #std::shared_ptr but
+ * requires the reference count to be embedded in the data.
  */
-template<typename T> class UserCounter {
+template<typename T> class ImplicitSharingPtr {
  private:
   T *data_ = nullptr;
 
  public:
-  UserCounter() = default;
+  ImplicitSharingPtr() = default;
 
-  UserCounter(T *data) : data_(data)
+  ImplicitSharingPtr(T *data) : data_(data)
   {
   }
 
-  UserCounter(const UserCounter &other) : data_(other.data_)
+  ImplicitSharingPtr(const ImplicitSharingPtr &other) : data_(other.data_)
   {
-    this->user_add(data_);
+    this->add_user(data_);
   }
 
-  UserCounter(UserCounter &&other) : data_(other.data_)
+  ImplicitSharingPtr(ImplicitSharingPtr &&other) : data_(other.data_)
   {
     other.data_ = nullptr;
   }
 
-  ~UserCounter()
+  ~ImplicitSharingPtr()
   {
-    this->user_remove(data_);
+    this->remove_user_and_delete_if_last(data_);
   }
 
-  UserCounter &operator=(const UserCounter &other)
+  ImplicitSharingPtr &operator=(const ImplicitSharingPtr &other)
   {
     if (this == &other) {
       return *this;
     }
 
-    this->user_remove(data_);
+    this->remove_user_and_delete_if_last(data_);
     data_ = other.data_;
-    this->user_add(data_);
+    this->add_user(data_);
     return *this;
   }
 
-  UserCounter &operator=(UserCounter &&other)
+  ImplicitSharingPtr &operator=(ImplicitSharingPtr &&other)
   {
     if (this == &other) {
       return *this;
     }
 
-    this->user_remove(data_);
+    this->remove_user_and_delete_if_last(data_);
     data_ = other.data_;
     other.data_ = nullptr;
     return *this;
@@ -112,7 +113,7 @@ template<typename T> class UserCounter {
 
   void reset()
   {
-    this->user_remove(data_);
+    this->remove_user_and_delete_if_last(data_);
     data_ = nullptr;
   }
 
@@ -126,29 +127,23 @@ template<typename T> class UserCounter {
     return get_default_hash(data_);
   }
 
-  friend bool operator==(const UserCounter &a, const UserCounter &b)
+  friend bool operator==(const ImplicitSharingPtr &a, const ImplicitSharingPtr &b)
   {
     return a.data_ == b.data_;
   }
 
-  friend std::ostream &operator<<(std::ostream &stream, const UserCounter &value)
-  {
-    stream << value.data_;
-    return stream;
-  }
-
  private:
-  static void user_add(T *data)
+  static void add_user(T *data)
   {
     if (data != nullptr) {
-      data->user_add();
+      data->add_user();
     }
   }
 
-  static void user_remove(T *data)
+  static void remove_user_and_delete_if_last(T *data)
   {
     if (data != nullptr) {
-      data->user_remove();
+      data->remove_user_and_delete_if_last();
     }
   }
 };
diff --git a/source/blender/blenlib/CMakeLists.txt b/source/blender/blenlib/CMakeLists.txt
index c4c94ed001e..04ba4a672ee 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenlib/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/source/blender/blenlib/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -243,6 +243,8 @@ set(SRC
   BLI_hash_tables.hh
   BLI_heap.h
   BLI_heap_simple.h
+  BLI_implicit_sharing.hh
+  BLI_implicit_sharing_ptr.hh
   BLI_index_mask.hh
   BLI_index_mask_ops.hh
   BLI_index_range.hh
@@ -355,7 +357,6 @@ set(SRC
   BLI_timecode.h
   BLI_timeit.hh
   BLI_timer.h
-  BLI_user_counter.hh
   BLI_utildefines.h
   BLI_utildefines_iter.h
   BLI_utildefines_stack.h
@@ -493,6 +494,7 @@ if(WITH_GTESTS)
     tests/BLI_hash_mm2a_test.cc
     tests/BLI_heap_simple_test.cc
     tests/BLI_heap_test.cc
+    tests/BLI_implicit_sharing_test.cc
     tests/BLI_index_mask_test.cc
     tests/BLI_index_range_test.cc
     tests/BLI_inplace_priority_queue_test.cc
diff --git a/source/blender/blenlib/tests/BLI_implicit_sharing_test.cc b/source/blender/blenlib/tests/BLI_implicit_sharing_test.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ebb341d7a1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/blender/blenlib/tests/BLI_implicit_sharing_test.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 */
+
+#include "MEM_guardedalloc.h"
+
+#include "BLI_implicit_sharing_ptr.hh"
+
+#include "testing/testing.h"
+
+namespace blender::tests {
+
+class ImplicitlySharedData : public ImplicitSharingMixin {
+ public:
+  ImplicitSharingPtr<ImplicitlySharedData> copy() const
+  {
+    return MEM_new<ImplicitlySharedData>(__func__);
+  }
+
+  void delete_self() override
+  {
+    MEM_delete(this);
+  }
+};
+
+class SharedDataContainer {
+ private:
+  ImplicitSharingPtr<ImplicitlySharedData> data_;
+
+ public:
+  SharedDataContainer() : data_(MEM_new<ImplicitlySharedData>(__func__))
+  {
+  }
+
+  const ImplicitlySharedData *get_for_read() const
+  {
+    return data_.get();
+  }
+
+  ImplicitlySharedData *get_for_write()
+  {
+    if (!data_) {
+      return nullptr;
+    }
+    if (data_->is_mutable()) {
+      return data_.get();
+    }
+    data_ = data_->copy();
+    return data_.get();
+  }
+};
+
+TEST(implicit_sharing, CopyOnWriteAccess)
+{
+  /* Create the initial data. */
+  SharedDataContainer a;
+  EXPECT_NE(a.get_for_read(), nullptr);
+
+  /* a and b share the same underlying data now. */
+  SharedDataContainer b = a;
+  EXPECT_EQ(a.get_for_read(), b.get_for_read());
+
+  /* c now shares the data with a and b. */
+  SharedDataContainer c = a;
+  EXPECT_EQ(b.get_for_read(), c.get_for_read());
+
+  /* Retrieving write access on b should make a copy because the data is shared. */
+  ImplicitlySharedData *data_b1 = b.get_for_write();
+  EXPECT_NE(data_b1, nullptr);
+  EXPECT_EQ(data_b1, b.get_for_read());
+  EXPECT_NE(data_b1, a.get_for_read());
+  EXPECT_NE(data_b1, c.get_for_read());
+
+  /* Retrieving the same write access again should *not* make another copy. */
+  ImplicitlySharedData *data_b2 = b.get_for_write();
+  EXPECT_EQ(data_b1, data_b2);
+
+  /* Moving b should also move the data. b then does not have ownership anymore. Since the data in
+   * b only had one owner, the data is still mutable now that d is the owner. */
+  SharedDataContainer d = std::move(b);
+  EXPECT_EQ(b.get_for_read(), nullptr);
+  EXPECT_EQ(b.get_for_write(), nullptr);
+  EXPECT_EQ(d.get_for_read(), data_b1);
+  EXPECT_EQ(d.get_for_write(), data_b1);
+}
+
+}  // namespace blender::tests
diff --git a/source/blender/geometry/intern/mesh_split_edges.cc b/source/blender/geometry/intern/mesh_split_edges.cc
index 007ec7c3b63..00cfa5eb756 100644
--- a/source/blender/geometry/intern/mesh_split_edges.cc
+++ b/source/blender/geometry/intern/mesh_split_edges.cc
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 #include "BLI_array_utils.hh"
 #include "BLI_index_mask.hh"
-#include "BLI_user_counter.hh"
 
 #include "BKE_attribute.hh"
 #include "BKE_attribute_math.hh"
@@ -69,7 +68,7 @@ static void add_new_edges(Mesh &mesh,
   /* Store a copy of the IDs locally since we will remove the existing attributes which
    * can also free the names, since the API does not provide pointer stability. */
   Vector<std::string> named_ids;
-  Vector<UserCounter<const bke::AnonymousAttributeID>> anonymous_ids;
+  Vector<bke::AutoAnonymousAttributeID> anonymous_ids;
   for (const bke::AttributeIDRef &id : attributes.all_ids()) {
     if (attributes.lookup_meta_data(id)->domain != ATTR_DOMAIN_EDGE) {
       continue;
@@ -82,14 +81,14 @@ static void add_new_edges(Mesh &mesh,
     }
     else {
       anonymous_ids.append(&id.anonymous_id());
-      id.anonymous_id().user_add();
+      id.anonymous_id().add_user();
     }
   }
   Vector<bke::AttributeIDRef> local_edge_ids;
   for (const StringRef name : named_ids) {
     local_edge_ids.append(name);
   }
-  for (const UserCounter<const bke::AnonymousAttributeID> &id : anonymous_ids) {
+  for (const bke::AutoAnonymousAttributeID &id : anonymous_ids) {
     local_edge_ids.append(*id);
   }
 
diff --git a/source/blender/geometry/intern/realize_instances.cc b/source/blender/geometry/intern/realize_instances.cc
index d53446cdd5f..e157e05c4c6 100644
--- a/source/blender/geometry/intern/realize_instances.cc
+++ b/source/blender/geometry/intern/realize_instances.cc
@@ -229,8 +229,8 @@ struct GatherTasks {
 
   /* Volumes only have very simple support currently. Only the first found volume is put into the
    * output. */
-  UserCounter<const VolumeComponent> first_volume;
-  UserCounter<const GeometryComponentEditData> first_edit_data;
+  ImplicitSharingPtr<const VolumeComponent> first_volume;
+  ImplicitSharingPtr<const GeometryComponentEditData> first_edit_data;
 };
 
 /** Current offsets while during the gather operation. */
@@ -611,7 +611,7 @@ static void gather_realize_tasks_recursive(GatherTasksInfo &gather_info,
       case GEO_COMPONENT_TYPE_VOLUME: {
         const VolumeComponent *volume_component = static_cast<const VolumeComponent *>(component);
         if (!gather_info.r_tasks.first_volume) {
-          volume_component->user_add();
+          volume_component->add_user();
           gather_info.r_tasks.first_volume = volume_component;
         }
         break;
@@ -620,7 +620,7 @@ static void gather_realize_tasks_recursive(GatherTasksInfo &gather_info,
         const GeometryComponentEditData *edit_component =
             static_cast<const GeometryComponentEditData *>(component);
         if (!gather_info.r_tasks.first_edit_data) {
-          edit_component->user_add();
+          edit_component->add_user();
           gather_info.r_tasks.first_edit_data = edit_component;
         }
         break;