Bose–Einstein correlations for same-sign charged pions from proton–proton collisions at s = 7 TeV are studied by the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment. Correlation radii and chaoticity parameters are determined for different regions of charged-particle multiplicity using a double-ratio technique and a Levy parametrization of the correlation function. The correlation radius increases with the charged-particle multiplicity, while the chaoticity parameter decreases, which is consistent with observations from other experiments. A similar study for proton-lead collisions at s N N = 5 . 02 TeV is proposed. These results can give valuable input for the theoretical models that describe the evolution of the particle source, probing both its potential dependence on pseudorapidity region and differences between proton–proton and proton–lead systems.