Hello all,
This is my monthly report for June. Much of my focus last month was around the Tor Browser 13.5 release, i.e. updating various user-facing documentation and post-release user support. I finished updating the Tor Browser Manual[0] in preparation for the release as well as the Support Portal[1]. After the release, we received numerous tickets about the 'New Identity' feature not working in Tor Browser for Android[2] and questions about the banner warning users about the upcoming end-of-life for Windows ≤8.1 and macOS ≤10.14[3].
Last month, we saw another uptick in support request from Chinese speaking users which can be attributed to the ongoing outreach work[4]. Continuing our investigation of the significant drop in user support tickets via email from Russian speaking users we found there were a few emails wrongly flagged by our email spam filters[5], although that still doesn't explain what's the main issue.
Following is a more detailed breakdown of tickets our user support team handled in June:
# Frontdesk (email support channel)
* 569(↑) RT tickets created * 501(↑) RT tickets resolved
Tickets by numbers:
1. 305(↑) RT tickets: private bridge requests from Chinese speaking users. 2. 72(↓) RT tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries.
Tor Browser 13.5 related tickets:
3. 7 RT tickets: 'New Identity' feature is not working in latest versions of Tor Browser for Android[2]. 4. 4 RT tickets: Questions about the banner warning users about the upcoming EOL for Win ≤8.1 and macOS ≤10.14[3].
Highlighting some other topics we received questions and feedback:
5. 3 RT tickets: Help troubleshooting Tor Browser on Windows 10/11. 6. 3 RT tickets: Instructions and help with verifying Tor Browser's PGP signature. 7. 3 RT tickets: Report of websites blocking Tor. 8. 2 RT tickets: Reports of Tor Browser for Android not working with Samsung devices[6]. 9. 2 RT tickets: Circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi 10. 2 RT tickets: Reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore, masquerading as Tor Browser. 11. 2 RT tickets: Questions about modifying torrc to select specific countries to exit from. We discourage users from modifying this and let Tor Browser choose it's own circuit, until and unless they are really sure of what they are trying to do. 12. Help with setting up an onion service. 13. Instructions on how to import bookmarks in Tor Browser (Desktop).
# Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal Support channel
* 555(↓) tickets resolved
Breakdown: * 532(↓) tickets on Telegram * 20(↓) tickets on WhatsApp * 3(↑) ticket on Signal
Tickets by numbers:
1. 299(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 2. 45(↑) tickets: private bridge requests from Chinese speaking users. 3. 37(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 4. 14 tickets: helping users on iOS, using Onion Browser or Orbot, to use censorship circumvention methods.
Highlighting some other topics we received questions about:
5. 3 tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from GetTor. 6. 3 tickets: Troubleshooting Tor Browser on Linux. 7. 3 tickets: instructions on using bridges with little-t-tor. 8. 3 tickets: Troubleshooting Tor Browser on macOS
# Highlights from the Tor Forum
1. Snowflake browser extension requires opt-in consent.[7] 2. Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 will be discontinued after the release of Tor Browser 14, scheduled for the end of 2024. Users on these operating systems are strongly advised to upgrade to maintain access to the most recent updates and security features provided by Tor Browser.[8]
Thanks! e.
Note: (↑), (↓) and (-) are indicating if the number of tickets we received for these topics have been increasing, decreasing or have been the same from the previous month respectively.
[0]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/manual/-/commits/main?author=ebanam [1]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/commits/main?author=ebanam [2]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42589 [3]: https://tb-manual.torproject.org/installation/#system-requirements [4]: https://github.com/torproject/tor4zh [5]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/41664 [6]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42714 [7]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/snowflake-browser-extension-requires-opt-in-c... [8]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/what-happens-when-using-older-than-windows-10...