diff --git a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/yaml.ts b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/yaml.ts
index e87c6706dea79..7daebc574a5cf 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/yaml.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-core/src/server/injected/yaml.ts
@@ -62,12 +62,8 @@ function yamlStringNeedsQuotes(str: string): boolean {
   if (/^-\s/.test(str))
     return true;
 
-  // Strings that start with a special indicator character need quotes
-  if (/^[&*\],].*/.test(str))
-    return true;
-
-  // Strings containing ':' followed by a space or at the end need quotes
-  if (/:(\s|$)/.test(str))
+  // Strings containing ':' or '\n' followed by a space or at the end need quotes
+  if (/[\n:](\s|$)/.test(str))
     return true;
 
   // Strings containing '#' preceded by a space need quotes (comment indicator)
@@ -78,21 +74,17 @@ function yamlStringNeedsQuotes(str: string): boolean {
   if (/[\n\r]/.test(str))
     return true;
 
-  // Strings starting with '?' or '!' (directives) need quotes
-  if (/^[?!]/.test(str))
-    return true;
-
-  // Strings starting with '>' or '|' (block scalar indicators) need quotes
-  if (/^[>|]/.test(str))
-    return true;
-
-  // Strings starting with quotes need quotes
-  if (/^["']/.test(str))
+  // Strings starting with indicator characters or quotes need quotes
+  if (/^[&*\],?!>|@"'#%]/.test(str))
     return true;
 
   // Strings containing special characters that could cause ambiguity
   if (/[{}`]/.test(str))
     return true;
 
+  // Non-string types recognized by YAML
+  if (!isNaN(Number(str)) || ['y', 'n', 'yes', 'no', 'true', 'false', 'on', 'off', 'null'].includes(str.toLowerCase()))
+    return true;
+
   return false;
 }
diff --git a/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts b/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts
index 6b37438419b7a..2289e59d74113 100644
--- a/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/page/page-aria-snapshot.spec.ts
@@ -509,3 +509,57 @@ it('should handle long strings', async ({ page }) => {
       - region: ${s}
   `);
 });
+
+it('should escape special yaml characters', async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.setContent(`
+    <a href="#">@hello</a>@hello
+    <a href="#">]hello</a>]hello
+    <a href="#">hello\n</a>
+    hello\n<a href="#">\n hello</a>\n hello
+    <a href="#">#hello</a>#hello
+  `);
+
+  await checkAndMatchSnapshot(page.locator('body'), `
+    - link "@hello"
+    - text: "@hello"
+    - link "]hello"
+    - text: "]hello"
+    - link "hello"
+    - text: hello
+    - link "hello"
+    - text: hello
+    - link "#hello"
+    - text: "#hello"
+  `);
+});
+
+it('should escape special yaml values', async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.setContent(`
+    <a href="#">true</a>False
+    <a href="#">NO</a>yes
+    <a href="#">y</a>N
+    <a href="#">on</a>Off
+    <a href="#">null</a>NULL
+    <a href="#">123</a>123
+    <a href="#">-1.2</a>-1.2
+    <input type=text value="555">
+  `);
+
+  await checkAndMatchSnapshot(page.locator('body'), `
+    - link "true"
+    - text: "False"
+    - link "NO"
+    - text: "yes"
+    - link "y"
+    - text: "N"
+    - link "on"
+    - text: "Off"
+    - link "null"
+    - text: "NULL"
+    - link "123"
+    - text: "123"
+    - link "-1.2"
+    - text: "-1.2"
+    - textbox: "555"
+  `);
+});