- ConsenSys, the company behind MetaMask, announced a fast-approaching fix to resolve high disk activity affecting its browser extension.
- Users reported the MetaMask extension writing hundreds of gigabytes per day to solid-state drives, which could reduce SSD lifespan.
- The issue occurs mainly in Chromium-based browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Opera, according to user reports.
- Consensys stated that the issue impacts users with unusually large data “state” and is working to decrease data writing volume and frequency.
- The bug was first reported in May and remains unresolved, with further user complaints as recently as July 17.
Consensys, the developer of the MetaMask digital wallet, confirmed that it will soon release a fix for a problem that causes the MetaMask browser extension to repeatedly write large amounts of data to users’ solid-state drives (SSDs). Some users noticed this issue as early as May, and recent complaints say it continues to affect devices running Chromium-based browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Opera.
The bug leads the MetaMask extension to write up to 500 gigabytes of data per day, or 25 terabytes in three months, even when users are not interacting with the extension. According to a company spokesperson, “there has been ‘unusually high disk activity’ affecting certain MetaMask users,” and the company is actively investigating the issue.
On June 24, a user named ripper31337 posted on GitHub, describing how a new MetaMask installation continuously wrote data to their SSD at a rate of five megabytes per second without any user activity. Another individual using the handle “Quanquan” posted a similar complaint on May 9, reporting that MetaMask added 100 gigabytes of data to their SSD in a single day. After disabling the extension, the disk activity quickly dropped. If left unchecked, heavy and constant SSD writing can wear the drive out much faster than under normal use, which typically gives an SSD a five to ten year lifespan.
A spokesperson for Consensys said, “A fix is being released imminently.” The company is also working to limit the extension’s data-writing size and reduce how often it fetches and writes data in the background. The company added, “The issue predominantly impacts users with unusually large state. We’re exploring strategies for reducing state size.” In software like MetaMask, the term “state” refers to the information stored during use, such as transaction history or wallet data.
Despite ongoing efforts, affected users continued to post complaints as recently as July 17. One said their extension’s activity reduced their SSD’s remaining lifespan by half. The MetaMask development team responded on GitHub, stating they are working on a resolution and confirming that the bug remains under investigation.
For more information on SSD lifespan, refer to this SSD care guide. User-reported issues can be viewed on the original GitHub thread.
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