Hello Tor!
A lot of exciting things happened last month. We launched Tor Browser 8 Alpha! It includes a few of UX/UI improvements we have been working on this year, and I'd like to go a little bit deep here: (a) New Circuit Display https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/24309
Problem We found that users don't know if circuits work per tab or globally (Tor Browser has first party isolation by default). Also, many users expect the guard node to change when asking for a new circuit. Indeed, there is nothing on circuit display that tells the user the first node is a guard, what guards are, and how it works when Tor creates new circuits for the user.
Hypothesis We are consistently moving site-specific settings into the URL bar. We thought that running the circuit display to the URL bar area will help users to relate the circuit and the domain. Improve the comprehension of how Tor has been building the circuit is also part of it project scope. Related with the guard node: if we highlight the Guard node label at the UI, users will be able to identify it easier and faster. Finally, the Community team is updating the Tor Browser Manual with more information about Guard nodes for users who want to [Learn More].
(b) .onion security indicators https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/23247
Problem Tor Browser doesn't communicate ideally to users that visit .onion sites. For example, users visiting .onion services under HTTP looks scary with lots of warnings. Also, we are missing the opportunity to educate users about .onion services.
Hypothesis Adding an onion icon will help users to identify onion services. Moreover, keeping our security indicator icons close to default security indicators will help users to react accordingly to their past experiences.
You can read more about this release here [0]. Please download it, try it and report us what do you think. Next steps include a new About:Tor Page[1], a Tor Browser onboarding[2] and a reviewed update Tor Browser flow[3].
Helen Nyinakiiza (nyinz) joined us as a User Research Coordinator last month. She is working on reporting the results of all the user testing sessions we ran in India, Spain, Uganda, and Colombia related with this release.
Last month also, we had been in Colombia doing privacy and security training, spreading Tor tools and learning from our new and old users. During this period, we were able to conduct six digital security and privacy training and reach three cities in Colombia. Thanks Fundación Karisma, Congreso de los Pueblos, Hacklab Bogota, Colnodo and many others for receiving us!
Our support portal got its soft launch[4]. Emmapeel joined us as a Localization Manager, and she will be helping us to sort all the localization efforts we need to release it in our Tier1 languages. If you find any bug or you want to report anything you can report those in various ways[5]. If you're going to help us with translations, then you're welcome here[6].
We have a lot of things on our plate. You are welcome to join us on Tuesdays at 1600 UTC in #tor-meeting if you want to get involved!
On behalf of the Tor UX team, Antonela
[0] https://blog.torproject.org/new-release-tor-browser-80a9 [1] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/25695 [2] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/24918 [3] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/25694 [4] https://support.torproject.org [5] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/community/HowToReportBugFe... [6] https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/wiki/doc/translation/Introduction#F...