diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 0dbe9d8..bdafebb 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -7,8 +7,11 @@ require gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1
 require golang.org/x/net v0.51.0
 
 require (
+	github.com/axiomhq/hyperloglog v0.2.6 // indirect
 	github.com/beorn7/perks v1.0.1 // indirect
 	github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0 // indirect
+	github.com/dgryski/go-metro v0.0.0-20250106013310-edb8663e5e33 // indirect
+	github.com/kamstrup/intmap v0.5.2 // indirect
 	github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0 // indirect
 	github.com/munnerz/goautoneg v0.0.0-20191010083416-a7dc8b61c822 // indirect
 	github.com/prometheus/client_golang v1.23.2 // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index b1985a5..97f9bca 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -1,7 +1,13 @@
+github.com/axiomhq/hyperloglog v0.2.6 h1:sRhvvF3RIXWQgAXaTphLp4yJiX4S0IN3MWTaAgZoRJw=
+github.com/axiomhq/hyperloglog v0.2.6/go.mod h1:YjX/dQqCR/7QYX0g8mu8UZAjpIenz1FKM71UEsjFoTo=
 github.com/beorn7/perks v1.0.1 h1:VlbKKnNfV8bJzeqoa4cOKqO6bYr3WgKZxO8Z16+hsOM=
 github.com/beorn7/perks v1.0.1/go.mod h1:G2ZrVWU2WbWT9wwq4/hrbKbnv/1ERSJQ0ibhJ6rlkpw=
 github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0 h1:UL815xU9SqsFlibzuggzjXhog7bL6oX9BbNZnL2UFvs=
 github.com/cespare/xxhash/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:VGX0DQ3Q6kWi7AoAeZDth3/j3BFtOZR5XLFGgcrjCOs=
+github.com/dgryski/go-metro v0.0.0-20250106013310-edb8663e5e33 h1:ucRHb6/lvW/+mTEIGbvhcYU3S8+uSNkuMjx/qZFfhtM=
+github.com/dgryski/go-metro v0.0.0-20250106013310-edb8663e5e33/go.mod h1:c9O8+fpSOX1DM8cPNSkX/qsBWdkD4yd2dpciOWQjpBw=
+github.com/kamstrup/intmap v0.5.2 h1:qnwBm1mh4XAnW9W9Ue9tZtTff8pS6+s6iKF6JRIV2Dk=
+github.com/kamstrup/intmap v0.5.2/go.mod h1:gWUVWHKzWj8xpJVFf5GC0O26bWmv3GqdnIX/LMT6Aq4=
 github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0 h1:RPNrshWIDI6G2gRW9EHilWtl7Z6Sb1BR0xunSBf0SNc=
 github.com/kylelemons/godebug v1.1.0/go.mod h1:9/0rRGxNHcop5bhtWyNeEfOS8JIWk580+fNqagV/RAw=
 github.com/munnerz/goautoneg v0.0.0-20191010083416-a7dc8b61c822 h1:C3w9PqII01/Oq1c1nUAm88MOHcQC9l5mIlSMApZMrHA=
diff --git a/internal/aggregate/metrics.go b/internal/aggregate/metrics.go
index fefbb54..3742186 100644
--- a/internal/aggregate/metrics.go
+++ b/internal/aggregate/metrics.go
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ type MetricsAggregator struct {
 	pageviews    *prometheus.CounterVec
 	customEvents *prometheus.CounterVec
 	pathOverflow prometheus.Counter
+	dailyUniques prometheus.Gauge
+	estimator    *UniquesEstimator
 }
 
 // Creates a new metrics aggregator with dynamic labels based on config
@@ -54,12 +56,21 @@ func NewMetricsAggregator(registry *PathRegistry, cfg config.Config) *MetricsAgg
 		},
 	)
 
+	dailyUniques := prometheus.NewGauge(
+		prometheus.GaugeOpts{
+			Name: "web_daily_unique_visitors",
+			Help: "Estimated unique visitors today (HyperLogLog)",
+		},
+	)
+
 	return &MetricsAggregator{
 		registry:     registry,
 		cfg:          cfg,
 		pageviews:    pageviews,
 		customEvents: customEvents,
 		pathOverflow: pathOverflow,
+		dailyUniques: dailyUniques,
+		estimator:    NewUniquesEstimator(),
 	}
 }
 
@@ -93,9 +104,20 @@ func (m *MetricsAggregator) RecordPathOverflow() {
 	m.pathOverflow.Inc()
 }
 
+// Adds a visitor to the unique visitor estimator. Only tracks if salt_rotation is configured
+func (m *MetricsAggregator) AddUnique(ip, userAgent string) {
+	if m.cfg.Site.SaltRotation == "" {
+		return // only track if salt rotation is enabled
+	}
+
+	m.estimator.Add(ip, userAgent)
+	m.dailyUniques.Set(float64(m.estimator.Estimate()))
+}
+
 // Registers all metrics with the provided Prometheus registry
 func (m *MetricsAggregator) MustRegister(reg prometheus.Registerer) {
 	reg.MustRegister(m.pageviews)
 	reg.MustRegister(m.customEvents)
 	reg.MustRegister(m.pathOverflow)
+	reg.MustRegister(m.dailyUniques)
 }
diff --git a/internal/aggregate/uniques.go b/internal/aggregate/uniques.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b1049e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/aggregate/uniques.go
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+package aggregate
+
+import (
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"encoding/hex"
+	"sync"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/axiomhq/hyperloglog"
+)
+
+// UniquesEstimator tracks unique visitors using HyperLogLog with daily salt rotation
+type UniquesEstimator struct {
+	hll        *hyperloglog.Sketch
+	currentDay string
+	mu         sync.Mutex
+}
+
+// NewUniquesEstimator creates a new unique visitor estimator
+func NewUniquesEstimator() *UniquesEstimator {
+	return &UniquesEstimator{
+		hll:        hyperloglog.New(),
+		currentDay: dailySalt(time.Now()),
+	}
+}
+
+// Add records a visitor with privacy-preserving hashing
+// Uses IP + UserAgent + daily salt to prevent cross-day correlation
+func (u *UniquesEstimator) Add(ip, userAgent string) {
+	u.mu.Lock()
+	defer u.mu.Unlock()
+
+	// Check if we need to rotate to a new day
+	today := dailySalt(time.Now())
+	if today != u.currentDay {
+		// Reset HLL for new day
+		u.hll = hyperloglog.New()
+		u.currentDay = today
+	}
+
+	// Hash visitor with daily salt to prevent cross-day tracking
+	hash := hashVisitor(ip, userAgent, u.currentDay)
+	u.hll.Insert([]byte(hash))
+}
+
+// Estimate returns the estimated number of unique visitors
+func (u *UniquesEstimator) Estimate() uint64 {
+	u.mu.Lock()
+	defer u.mu.Unlock()
+	return u.hll.Estimate()
+}
+
+// dailySalt generates a deterministic salt based on the current date
+// Same day = same salt, different day = different salt
+func dailySalt(t time.Time) string {
+	// Use UTC to ensure consistent rotation regardless of timezone
+	date := t.UTC().Format("2006-01-02")
+	h := sha256.Sum256([]byte("watchdog-salt-" + date))
+	return hex.EncodeToString(h[:])
+}
+
+// hashVisitor creates a privacy-preserving hash of visitor identity
+func hashVisitor(ip, userAgent, salt string) string {
+	combined := ip + "|" + userAgent + "|" + salt
+	h := sha256.Sum256([]byte(combined))
+	return hex.EncodeToString(h[:])
+}
+
+// CurrentSalt returns the current salt for testing
+func (u *UniquesEstimator) CurrentSalt() string {
+	u.mu.Lock()
+	defer u.mu.Unlock()
+	return u.currentDay
+}
+
+// DailySalt is exported for testing
+func DailySalt(t time.Time) string {
+	return dailySalt(t)
+}
diff --git a/internal/aggregate/uniques_test.go b/internal/aggregate/uniques_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0be3758
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/aggregate/uniques_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+package aggregate
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+)
+
+func TestDailySalt(t *testing.T) {
+	// Same day should produce same salt
+	day1Morning := time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 9, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	day1Evening := time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 23, 59, 59, 0, time.UTC)
+
+	salt1 := DailySalt(day1Morning)
+	salt2 := DailySalt(day1Evening)
+
+	if salt1 != salt2 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected same salt for same day, got %s and %s", salt1, salt2)
+	}
+
+	// Different day should produce different salt
+	day2 := time.Date(2024, 1, 16, 9, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	salt3 := DailySalt(day2)
+
+	if salt1 == salt3 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected different salt for different days, got same: %s", salt1)
+	}
+
+	// Salt should be deterministic
+	salt4 := DailySalt(day1Morning)
+	if salt1 != salt4 {
+		t.Errorf("Salt should be deterministic, got %s and %s", salt1, salt4)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestUniquesEstimator(t *testing.T) {
+	estimator := NewUniquesEstimator()
+
+	// Initially should be zero
+	if count := estimator.Estimate(); count != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected initial count of 0, got %d", count)
+	}
+
+	// Add a visitor
+	estimator.Add("192.168.1.1", "Mozilla/5.0")
+	if count := estimator.Estimate(); count != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected count of 1 after adding visitor, got %d", count)
+	}
+
+	// Adding same visitor should not increase count
+	estimator.Add("192.168.1.1", "Mozilla/5.0")
+	if count := estimator.Estimate(); count != 1 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected count of 1 after adding duplicate, got %d", count)
+	}
+
+	// Adding different visitor should increase count
+	estimator.Add("192.168.1.2", "Chrome/90.0")
+	if count := estimator.Estimate(); count < 2 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected count of at least 2 after adding different visitor, got %d", count)
+	}
+
+	// Test with many unique visitors
+	for i := range 1000 {
+		ip := "10.0." + string(rune(i/256)) + "." + string(rune(i%256))
+		estimator.Add(ip, "TestAgent")
+	}
+
+	count := estimator.Estimate()
+	// HyperLogLog has ~2% error rate, so 1000 uniques should be 980-1020
+	if count < 980 || count > 1020 {
+		t.Errorf("Expected count around 1000, got %d (error rate too high)", count)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestUniquesEstimatorDailyRotation(t *testing.T) {
+	// This test verifies that salts are different on different days
+	// The actual rotation happens in Add() based on current time
+
+	// Verify that different days produce different salts
+	day1 := time.Date(2024, 1, 15, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	day2 := time.Date(2024, 1, 16, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+
+	salt1 := DailySalt(day1)
+	salt2 := DailySalt(day2)
+
+	if salt1 == salt2 {
+		t.Error("Expected different salts for different days")
+	}
+
+	// Verify estimator uses current day's salt
+	estimator := NewUniquesEstimator()
+	currentSalt := estimator.CurrentSalt()
+	expectedSalt := DailySalt(time.Now())
+
+	if currentSalt != expectedSalt {
+		t.Errorf("Expected estimator to use current day's salt, got %s, expected %s", currentSalt, expectedSalt)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestHashVisitor(t *testing.T) {
+	// Same inputs should produce same hash
+	hash1 := hashVisitor("192.168.1.1", "Mozilla/5.0", "salt123")
+	hash2 := hashVisitor("192.168.1.1", "Mozilla/5.0", "salt123")
+
+	if hash1 != hash2 {
+		t.Error("Expected same hash for same inputs")
+	}
+
+	// Different IP should produce different hash
+	hash3 := hashVisitor("192.168.1.2", "Mozilla/5.0", "salt123")
+	if hash1 == hash3 {
+		t.Error("Expected different hash for different IP")
+	}
+
+	// Different user agent should produce different hash
+	hash4 := hashVisitor("192.168.1.1", "Chrome/90.0", "salt123")
+	if hash1 == hash4 {
+		t.Error("Expected different hash for different user agent")
+	}
+
+	// Different salt should produce different hash
+	hash5 := hashVisitor("192.168.1.1", "Mozilla/5.0", "salt456")
+	if hash1 == hash5 {
+		t.Error("Expected different hash for different salt")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/api/handler.go b/internal/api/handler.go
index 21827c0..e8b3545 100644
--- a/internal/api/handler.go
+++ b/internal/api/handler.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package api
 import (
 	"log"
 	"net/http"
+	"strings"
 
 	"notashelf.dev/watchdog/internal/aggregate"
 	"notashelf.dev/watchdog/internal/config"
@@ -70,6 +71,13 @@ func (h *IngestionHandler) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		return
 	}
 
+	// Extract visitor identity for unique tracking
+	ip := extractIP(r)
+	userAgent := r.Header.Get("User-Agent")
+
+	// Track unique visitor if salt rotation is enabled
+	h.metricsAgg.AddUnique(ip, userAgent)
+
 	// Process based on event type
 	if event.Event != "" {
 		// Custom event
@@ -102,6 +110,32 @@ func (h *IngestionHandler) ServeHTTP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNoContent)
 }
 
+// extractIP extracts the client IP from the request
+// Checks X-Forwarded-For and X-Real-IP headers for proxied requests
+func extractIP(r *http.Request) string {
+	// Check X-Forwarded-For header (may contain multiple IPs)
+	if xff := r.Header.Get("X-Forwarded-For"); xff != "" {
+		// Take the first IP in the list
+		ips := strings.Split(xff, ",")
+		if len(ips) > 0 {
+			return strings.TrimSpace(ips[0])
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Check X-Real-IP header
+	if xri := r.Header.Get("X-Real-IP"); xri != "" {
+		return xri
+	}
+
+	// Fall back to RemoteAddr
+	ip := r.RemoteAddr
+	// Strip port if present
+	if idx := strings.LastIndex(ip, ":"); idx != -1 {
+		ip = ip[:idx]
+	}
+	return ip
+}
+
 // Classifies screen width into device categories
 func classifyDevice(width int) string {
 	// FIXME: probably not the best logic for this...