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# Websites can now track you through your hard drive activity
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/websites-can-now-track-you-through-your-hard-drive-activity/
- Published: 2026-05-28T23:05:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-28T23:05:10.000Z
- Description: Researchers have discovered that sites can infer what files and programs you’re accessing by measuring storage latency—a side channel that bypasses traditional privacy protections like VPNs and incognito mode.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-connected, privacy, device fingerprinting, hardware-level tracking

Source: [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/05/websites-have-a-new-way-to-spy-on-visitors-analyzing-their-ssd-activity/?ref=adjacent.media)

Researchers have discovered that sites can infer what files and programs you're accessing by measuring storage latency—a side channel that bypasses traditional privacy protections like VPNs and incognito mode. Different storage operations create measurable timing patterns, giving websites a direct window into your device's internal behavior rather than just your network traffic. The finding expands the attack surface for tracking beyond cookies and fingerprinting, forcing browser makers and security researchers to reconsider which system behaviors should be accessible to web pages at all.