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Anti-censorship team meeting notes, 2025-04-10
by Shelikhoo 10 Apr '25

10 Apr '25

Hey everyone! Here are our meeting logs: http://meetbot.debian.net/tor-meeting/2025/tor-meeting.2025-04-10-16.00.html And our meeting pad: Anti-censorship work meeting pad -------------------------------- Anti-censorship -------------------------------- Next meeting: Thursday, April 10 16:00 UTC Facilitator: meskio ^^^(See Facilitator Queue at tail) Weekly meetings, every Thursday at 16:00 UTC, in #tor-meeting at OFTC (channel is logged while meetings are in progress) This week's Facilitator: shelikhoo == Goal of this meeting == Weekly check-in about the status of anti-censorship work at Tor. Coordinate collaboration between people/teams on anti-censorship at the Tor Project and Tor community. == Links to Useful documents == * Our anti-censorship roadmap: * Roadmap:https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/boards * The anti-censorship team's wiki page: * https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/team/-/wikis/home * Past meeting notes can be found at: * https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-project/ * Tickets that need reviews: from projects, we are working on: * All needs review tickets: * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/merge_requests?s… * Project 158 <-- meskio working on it * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/issues/?label_na… == Announcements == * == Discussion == Apr 10 New: == Actions == == Interesting links == * https://opencollective.com/censorship-circumvention/projects/snowflake-dail… == Reading group == * We will discuss "" on * Questions to ask and goals to have: * What aspects of the paper are questionable? * Are there immediate actions we can take based on this work? * Are there long-term actions we can take based on this work? * Is there future work that we want to call out in hopes that others will pick it up? == Updates == Name: This week: - What you worked on this week. Next week: - What you are planning to work on next week. Help with: - Something you need help with. cecylia (cohosh): 2025-04-03 Last week: - fixed caching for snowflake shadow integration tests (snowflake#40457) - fixed rust installation bug in shadow CI tests (snowflake#40456) - added option in conjure pt to switch between three supported transports (conjure#10) - set up a test conjure registration server This week: - support conjure work - follow up on snowflake rendezvous failures - reduce/remove use of mutexes for broker metrics (snowflake#40458) - take a look at potential snowflake orbot bug - https://github.com/guardianproject/orbot-android/issues/1183 dcf: 2025-04-10 Last week: - commented on snowflake option renaming https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… Next week: - open issue to have snowflake-client log whenever KCPInErrors is nonzero https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… - parent: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… Help with: meskio: 2024-04-03 Last week: - create a container for bridgestrap - investigate why email is not going out in gettor/email distributor (tpa/team#42109) - lyrebird: support dual stack IPv4/v6 in non-linux (lyrebird#40023) - update obfs4-bridge docker image (docker-obfs4-bridge#21) Next week: - steps towards a rdsys in containers (rdsys#219) Shelikhoo: 2024-04-10 Last Week: - [Testing] Unreliable+unordered WebRTC data channel transport for Snowflake rev2 (cont.)( https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… ) testing environment setup/research - Snowflake Staging Server (cont.) Discussion(https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/42080) - Snowfalke Staging Server Experiment - Vantage monitoring - Merge request reviews Next Week/TODO: - Merge request reviews - [Testing] Unreliable+unordered WebRTC data channel transport for Snowflake rev2 (cont.)( https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… ) improvements - Snowfalke Staging Server Experiment onyinyang: 2025-04-03 Last week(s): - Finished AMP Cache <> Conjure integration \o/ - Started work on Decoy routing for Conjure Next week: - Finish up Decoy routing for Conjure - review Tor browser Lox integration https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/merge_requests… - add TTL cache to lox MR for duplicate responses: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/lox/-/merge_requests/305 As time allows: - Work on outstanding milestone issues: - key rotation automation Later: pending decision on abandoning lox wasm in favour of some kind of FFI? https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43096): - add pref to handle timing for pubkey checks in Tor browser - add trusted invitation logic to tor browser integration: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42974 - improve metrics collection/think about how to show Lox is working/valuable - sketch out Lox blog post/usage notes for forum (long term things were discussed at the meeting!): - brainstorming grouping strategies for Lox buckets (of bridges) and gathering context on how types of bridges are distributed/use in practice Question: What makes a bridge usable for a given user, and how can we encode that to best ensure we're getting the most appropriate resources to people? 1. Are there some obvious grouping strategies that we can already consider? e.g., by PT, by bandwidth (lower bandwidth bridges sacrificed to open-invitation buckets?), by locale (to be matched with a requesting user's geoip or something?) 2. Does it make sense to group 3 bridges/bucket, so trusted users have access to 3 bridges (and untrusted users have access to 1)? More? Less? theodorsm: 2025-04-10 Last weeks: - fixing bugs in covert-dtls, only mimic DTLS 1.2 - Running proxy with covert-dtls - MR covert-dtls: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… Next weeks: - Write instructions on how to configure covert-dtls with snowflake client (are we going to run a user test?) - Fix merge conflicts in MR (https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…). - Condensing thesis into paper Help with: - Test stability of covert-dtls in snowflake Facilitator Queue: meskio onyinyang shelikhoo 1. First available staff in the Facilitator Queue will be the facilitator for the meeting 2. After facilitating the meeting, the facilitator will be moved to the tail of the queue

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minutes from the sysadmins
by Antoine Beaupré 07 Apr '25

07 Apr '25

Hi! Here are our monthly minutes. # Roll call: who's there and emergencies anarcat, groente, lavamind, lelutin and zen present, no emergency warranting a change in schedule. # Dashboard review We reviewed our dashboards as per our weekly checking. ## Normal per-user check-in * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/-/boards?scope=all&utf8=%E2%9C%93&… * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/-/boards?scope=all&utf8=%E2%9C%93&… * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/-/boards?scope=all&utf8=%E2%9C%93&… * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/-/boards?scope=all&utf8=%E2%9C%93&… * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/-/boards?scope=all&utf8=%E2%9C%93&… ## General dashboards: * https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/boards/117 * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/web/-/boards * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/tpa/-/boards # First quarter recap We reviewed our [plan for Q1][] and observed we've accomplished a lot of work: - Puppet Gitlab MR workflow - MinIO RFC - Prometheus work - download page work stalled - lots of email work done - good planning on the tails merge as well All around a pretty succesful, if really busy, quarter. [plan for Q1]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/wikis/meeting/2025-01-13#2025q… # Second quarter priorities and coordination We evaluated what we're hoping to do in the second quarter, and there's again a lot to be done: - upgrade to trixie, batch 1 (last week of april, first week of may!), batch 2 in may/june if all goes well - rdsys and snowflake containerization (VM setup in progress for the latter) - network team test network (VM setup in progress) - mail monitoring improvements - authentication merge plan - minio in production (RFC coming up) - puppet merge work starting - weblate and jenkins upgrades at the end of the quarter? # Holidays planning We have started planning for the northern hemisphere "summer" holidays, as people have already started booking things up for July and August. So far, it looks like we'll have one week with a 3-person overlap, leaving still 2 people on shifts. We've shuffled shifts around to keep the number of shifts over the year constant but avoid having people on shifts while on vacations and maxmizing the period between shifts to reduce the pain. As usual, we're taking great care to not leave everyone, all at once, on vacation in high risk activities. ;) # Metrics of the month * hosts in Puppet: 94, LDAP: 94, Prometheus exporters: 606 * number of Apache servers monitored: 33, hits per second: 760 * number of self-hosted nameservers: 6, mail servers: 93 * pending upgrades: 0, reboots: 0 * average load: 1.41, memory available: 3.76 TiB/5.86 TiB, running processes: 166 * disk free/total: 59.67 TiB/147.48 TiB * bytes sent: 568.24 MB/s, received: 387.83 MB/s * [GitLab tickets][]: 244 tickets including... * open: 1 * icebox: 138 * future: 52 * needs information: 6 * backlog: 22 * next: 8 * doing: 10 * needs review: 8 * (closed: 4017) [Gitlab tickets]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/boards -- Antoine Beaupré torproject.org system administration

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Haidi March’25 Report
by haidis＠riseup.net 03 Apr '25

03 Apr '25

Hi! Below is my March’25 (Period: 2025-03-01 - 2025-03-31) report! In March, I resolved 156 tickets: * On Telegram (@TorProjectSupportBot) – 72 (68 from farsi-speaking users, 4 from chinese-speaking users); * On RT (frontdesk@tpo) – 84 (2 from farsi-speaking users, 82 from chinese-speaking users); * On WhatsApp (+447421000612) - 0; * And on Signal (+17787431312) - 0; I completed the documentation about using pluggable transports with little-t tor[1]. Became familiar with various types of user-reported issues and learned how to handle them effectively on RT and CDR.Link. Additionally, translated some of user support templates to Farsi. Learned how to reply to certain types of tickets from Chinese-speaking users. Understood the importance of using tags in CDR tickets and made an effort to apply them. Tried to put the things I learned from user support overview documentation into action by following it to my responses to the tickets. Getting the permission of moderator for Tor Forum and reviewing the related documentation and learn more about Tor Forum. Thanks, Haidi [1] https://support.torproject.org/little-t-tor/tor-pluggable-transports/

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Anti-censorship team meeting notes, 2025-04-03
by onyinyang 03 Apr '25

03 Apr '25

Hey everyone! Here are our meeting logs: http://meetbot.debian.net/tor-meeting/2025/tor-meeting.2025-04-03-16.00.html And our meeting pad: Anti-censorship work meeting pad -------------------------------- Anti-censorship -------------------------------- Next meeting: Thursday, April 10 16:00 UTC Facilitator: shelikhoo ^^^(See Facilitator Queue at tail) Weekly meetings, every Thursday at 16:00 UTC, in #tor-meeting at OFTC (channel is logged while meetings are in progress) This week's Facilitator: onyinyang == Goal of this meeting == Weekly check-in about the status of anti-censorship work at Tor. Coordinate collaboration between people/teams on anti-censorship at the Tor Project and Tor community. == Links to Useful documents == * Our anti-censorship roadmap: * Roadmap:https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/boards * The anti-censorship team's wiki page: * https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/team/-/wikis/home * Past meeting notes can be found at: * https://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-project/ * Tickets that need reviews: from projects, we are working on: * All needs review tickets: * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/merge_requests?s… * Project 158 <-- meskio working on it * https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/anti-censorship/-/issues/?label_na… == Announcements == * == Discussion == * Give @renovate-bot guest access to anti-censorship group for it to use dependency proxy src shell * https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… * shelikhoo did enable it on monday * it did not produce MRs in unexpected repos * Should we move amp library to ptutil? * we discussed this internally but didn't come to a decision * conjure will enable registration through amp cache as of this MR: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/conj… * Upstream changes to conjure station actually implement ampcache logic, pointing to snowflake's amp library: https://github.com/cohosh/conjure/pull/1/commits * Leave it for now, build a signalling channel library that includes it later * start with ampcache == Actions == == Interesting links == * == Reading group == * We will discuss "Differential Degradation Vulnerabilities in Censorship Circumvention Systems" on April 3 * https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.06247 * Questions to ask and goals to have: * What aspects of the paper are questionable? * Are there immediate actions we can take based on this work? * Are there long-term actions we can take based on this work? * Is there future work that we want to call out in hopes that others will pick it up? == Updates == Name: This week: - What you worked on this week. Next week: - What you are planning to work on next week. Help with: - Something you need help with. cecylia (cohosh): 2025-04-03 Last week: - fixed caching for snowflake shadow integration tests (snowflake#40457) - fixed rust installation bug in shadow CI tests (snowflake#40456) - added option in conjure pt to switch between three supported transports (conjure#10) - set up a test conjure registration server This week: - support conjure work - follow up on snowflake rendezvous failures - reduce/remove use of mutexes for broker metrics (snowflake#40458) - take a look at potential snowflake orbot bug - https://github.com/guardianproject/orbot-android/issues/1183 dcf: 2025-04-03 Last week: - archived snowflake-webextension-0.9.3 https://archive.org/details/snowflake-webextension-0.9.3 Next week: - open issue to have snowflake-client log whenever KCPInErrors is nonzero https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… - parent: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… Help with: meskio: 2024-04-03 Last week: - create a container for bridgestrap - investigate why email is not going out in gettor/email distributor (tpa/team#42109) - lyrebird: support dual stack IPv4/v6 in non-linux (lyrebird#40023) - update obfs4-bridge docker image (docker-obfs4-bridge#21) Next week: - steps towards a rdsys in containers (rdsys#219) Shelikhoo: 2024-04-03 Last Week: - [Testing] Unreliable+unordered WebRTC data channel transport for Snowflake rev2 (cont.)( https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… ) testing environment setup/research - Snowflake Staging Server (cont.) Discussion(https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/42080) - Snowfalke Staging Server Experiment - Vantage maintaince - Merge request reviews Next Week/TODO: - Merge request reviews - [Testing] Unreliable+unordered WebRTC data channel transport for Snowflake rev2 (cont.)( https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… ) improvements - Snowfalke Staging Server Experiment onyinyang: 2025-04-03 Last week(s): - HACS/Zkproofs/OSCW/RWC - Testing ampcache functionality with test registration server Next week: - Begin work on decoy registration option - review Tor browser Lox integration https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/merge_requests… - add TTL cache to lox MR for duplicate responses: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/lox/-/merge_requests/305 As time allows: - Work on outstanding milestone issues: - key rotation automation Later: pending decision on abandoning lox wasm in favour of some kind of FFI? https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43096): - add pref to handle timing for pubkey checks in Tor browser - add trusted invitation logic to tor browser integration: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42974 - improve metrics collection/think about how to show Lox is working/valuable - sketch out Lox blog post/usage notes for forum (long term things were discussed at the meeting!): - brainstorming grouping strategies for Lox buckets (of bridges) and gathering context on how types of bridges are distributed/use in practice Question: What makes a bridge usable for a given user, and how can we encode that to best ensure we're getting the most appropriate resources to people? 1. Are there some obvious grouping strategies that we can already consider? e.g., by PT, by bandwidth (lower bandwidth bridges sacrificed to open-invitation buckets?), by locale (to be matched with a requesting user's geoip or something?) 2. Does it make sense to group 3 bridges/bucket, so trusted users have access to 3 bridges (and untrusted users have access to 1)? More? Less? theodorsm: 2025-03-06 Last weeks: - Implementing key_share extension support in covert-dtls - Implementing mimicking DTLS 1.3 extensions - Debugging Tor Build with covert-dtls: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow… Next weeks: - Update MR with new covert-dtls version. - Write instructions on how to configure covert-dtls with snowflake client - Fix merge conflicts in MR (https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snow…). - Condensing thesis into paper (on hold) Help with: - Test stability of covert-dtls in snowflake Facilitator Queue: onyinyang shelikhoo meskio 1. First available staff in the Facilitator Queue will be the facilitator for the meeting 2. After facilitating the meeting, the facilitator will be moved to the tail of the queue -- --- onyinyang GPG Fingerprint 3CC3 F8CC E9D0 A92F A108 38EF 156A 6435 430C 2036

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Rhatto's Public Monthly Status Report, March 2025
by rhatto 03 Apr '25

03 Apr '25

Hi all :) This is my monthly status report for March 2025 with the main relevant activities I have done, was involved or are related to my work during the period. March was a very busy month, with many releases. # Introducing Onimages: Onion Service container images Now there are fresh container images readily available and tuned for Onion Services usage. This was worked on during the last days of March and released today: * Repository: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/onimages/ * Documentation https://onionservices.torproject.org/apps/base/containers/ * Forum post: https://forum.torproject.org/t/announcing-onimages-onion-service-container-… # Onionprobe: monitoring tool for Onion Services Onionprobe got a new release, and then some additional improvements: * 1.3.0 release: https://forum.torproject.org/t/onionprobe-security-release-1-3-0/17864 * Improved Prometheus alerts (and wrote unit tests for that): https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/onionprobe/-/issues/102 * Improved Debian package CI: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/onionprobe/-/issues/94 # Onionmine: Onion Services key and certs generator Onionmine had it's 1.0.0 release, and right after was refactored with many new features and enhancements resulting in the 1.1.0 version: * Highlights: * Tutorial page: https://onionservices.torproject.org/apps/web/onionmine/tutorial/ * Security page: https://onionservices.torproject.org/apps/web/onionmine/security/ * ChangeLog: https://onionservices.torproject.org/apps/web/onionmine/changelog/ # Other releases * The Onionspray Log Parser for onionsite metrics got it's 3.0.0 release: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/onionspray-log-parser/-/bl… * AnCIble (CI for Ansible) 0.0.2 release: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/ansible/ancible/-/blob/mai… * Onion Services Ecosystem docs 1.0.0 finally released: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/onion-services/ecosystem/-/blob/main/Chan… # Other work * Found some issues with GitLab CI. One of them prevented lintian installation when running TPA base images: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/base-images/-/issues/21 * Ongoing sponsored work with deployment, maintenance and monitoring of Onion Services. -- Silvio Rhatto pronouns he/him

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sajolida's report for March 2025
by sajolida 01 Apr '25

01 Apr '25

Hi, Tails ===== Project 165 ----------- - Worked on navigation improvements for the Tails website (#20766) I have a draft branch for the following issues: (!2046) * Add a secondary navigation for the Documentation section of our website, with accordions that work without JavaScript. (#20393) * Add a hamburger menu for this navigation on mobile. (#20065) * Use a bigger font everywhere on our website. (#17665) See screenshots in attachment. - Evaluate GNOME Secrets as a replacement for KeePassXC. (#19136) The UX is decent and it would solve several integration and maintenance issues. - Tested anonym's branch that runs Tor Browser as flatpak and would solve several old usability issues. (!1933) - Tested 17 Wi-Fi adapters to debug Wi-Fi issues. (#20828) Misc ---- - Made a case to fund a backup feature based on prior user research. https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/operations/proposals/-/issues/98 - Fixed the changes that point the Donate page to Tor's. (!1968) Tor Browser =========== Project 163 ----------- - Ideated on how to display Conflux (aka. Multi Path Circuits) in Tor Browser together with felicia. (applications/tor-browser#41716) -- sajolida The Tor Project — UX Designer

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ebanam's monthly status report and user support report for March 2025
by ebanam 01 Apr '25

01 Apr '25

Hello everyone, Much of my work last month focussed on helping users in regions where Tor is censored, which includes helping users with instructions to download Tor Browser binaries from GetTor and/or official mirrors, verifying Tor Browser's GPG signature, help with using censorship circumvention methods that works best for them and overall troubleshooting. I wrote (mostly small modifications)[0][1] and reviewed some changes to the user-facing documentation on the Support Portal and Tor Browser User Manual. Worked on a couple of post-campaign tasks as we wrapped up the WebTunnel Bridges Campaign[2]. Following is a more detailed report about the tickets our user support team worked on last month. # Frontdesk (email user support channel) * 596(↑) RT tickets created * 646(↑) RT tickets resolved Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 411(↑) RT tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. 2. 102(↓) RT tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 3. 37(↑) RT tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux). 4. 22(↑) RT tickets: WebTunnel bridges campaign wrap-up.[2] 5. 10(↑) RT tickets: questions about how Tor and Tor Browser works - is my IP visible when using Tor? what application level protections I get when using Tor Browser? Why Tor Browser doesn't store my cookies, passwords and browsing history? etc. 6. 6(↑) RT tickets: Unable to login on X.com (formerly Twitter) when using Tor Browser.[3] 7. 5(↑) RT tickets: installing Tor Browser on Linux. 8. 3(↓) RT tickets: reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore masquerading as official Tor Browser. 9. 3(↑) RT ticket: reports of websites blocking Tor connections. 10. 3(↑) RT tickets: Bookmarks are failing to load on Tor Browser Alpha.[4] 11. 2(↑) RT tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 12. 2(↑) RT tickets: questions about what "onionize" means on about:tor in Tor Browser[5] 13. 1(↑) RT ticket: installing Tor Browser on ChromeOS (Chromebooks).[6] 14. 1(-) RT ticket: questions about onion services and how to access them. 15. 1(↑) RT ticket: Websites display in other languages when using Tor Browser.[7] 16. 1(↑) RT ticket: Embedded snowflake client URL redirect is giving a 404[8] (Issue has been resolved.) 17. 1(↑) RT ticket: Email bridge distributor is not responding[9]. (Issue has been resolved.) 18. 1(-) RT ticket: instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for legacy operating systems. 19. 1(-) RT ticket: static Captcha when requesting bridges in Tor Browser.[10] 20. 1(↓) RT ticket: help with installing Tor Browser on Windows. 21. 1(-) ticket: question about setting up a Tor relay. 22. 1(↑) ticket: Modify about:rights (on Tor Browser) with proper descriptions that apply to Tor Browser.[11] # Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal user support channels * 751(↑) tickets resolved Breakdown: * 734(↑) tickets on Telegram * 15(↑) tickets on WhatsApp * 2(↓) tickets on Signal Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 511(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 2. 56(↑) tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. 3. 17(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 4. 17(↑) tickets: helping users on iOS, using Onion Browser or Orbot, to use censorship circumvention methods. 5. 12(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor Browser Desktop on Windows, macOS and Linux. 6. 10(↑) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor Browser Android. 7. 7(↑) tickets: help with instructions to use bridges with Tails. 8. 6(↑) tickets: reports of our Telegram Tor bridges distributor (@GetBridgesBot) not responding. (Issue has been resolved.) 9. 4(↑) tickets: questions about onion services and how to access them. 10. 4(↑) tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from GetTor. 11. 4(↑) tickets: users seeing a "proxy refused" error when visiting websites on Tor Browser for Android using Samsung devices.[12] 12. 2(↑) tickets: help with using Snowflake with Tor to circumvent censorship. 13. 2(↑) tickets: instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for legacy operating systems. 14. 2(↑) tickets: Unable to login on X.com (formerly Twitter) when using Tor Browser.[3] 15. 1(↑) ticket: report of a fake apps on iOS AppStore masquerading as official Tor Browser. 16. 1(↑) ticket: Bookmarks are failing to load on Tor Browser for Android Alpha.[4] # Highlights from the Tor Forum 1. X.com (formerly Twitter) issues with Tor Browser.[3] 2. Older Tor Browsers are breaking in functionality and pose a security risk, please update to the latest versions of Tor Browser.[13] 3. The Impact of Privacy Addons on Tor Browser Fingerprinting.[14] 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. best, e. [0]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/commits/main?author=ebanam [1]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/manual/-/commits/main?author=ebanam [2]: https://blog.torproject.org/fighting-censorship-with-webtunnel/ [3]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/x-com-formerly-twitter-issues-with-tor-brows… [4]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43581 [5]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43549 [6]: https://support.torproject.org/tbb/tbb-15/ [7]: https://support.torproject.org/tbb/tbb-43/ [8]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/snowflake/-/issues/20 [9]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/rdsys/-/issues/260 [10]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/always-the-same-captcha-when-requesting-brig… [11]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43471 [12]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42714 [13]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/older-tor-browsers-breaking-update-now/17885 [14]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/the-impact-of-privacy-addons-on-tor-browser-…

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TPA-RFC-80: Debian 13 ("trixie") upgrade schedule
by Antoine Beaupré 01 Apr '25

01 Apr '25

Summary: start upgrading servers during the Debian 13 ("trixie") freeze, if it goes well, complete most of the fleet upgrade in around June 2025, with full completion by the end of 2025, with a 2026 year free of major upgrades entirely. Improve automation, retire old container images. Deadline: 2 weeks, 2025-04-01 # Background Debian 13 ("trixie"), currently "testing", is going into freeze soon, which means we should have a new Debian stable release in 2025. It has been a long-standing tradition at TPA to collaborate in the Debian development process and part of that process is to upgrade our servers during the freeze. Upgrading during the freeze makes it easier for us to fix bugs as we find them and contribute them to the community. The [freeze dates announced by the debian.org release team][] are: 2025-03-15 - Milestone 1 - Transition and toolchain freeze 2025-04-15 - Milestone 2 - Soft Freeze 2025-05-15 - Milestone 3 - Hard Freeze - for key packages and packages without autopkgtests To be announced - Milestone 4 - Full Freeze We have entered the "transition and toolchain freeze" which locks changes on packages like compilers and interpreters unless exceptions. See the [Debian freeze policy][] for an explanation of each step. Even though we've just completed the Debian 11 ("bullseye") and 12 ("bookworm") upgrades in late 2024, we feel it's a good idea to start *and* complete the Debian 13 upgrades in 2025. That way, we can hope of having a year or two (2026-2027?) *without* any major upgrades. This proposal is part of the [Debian 13 trixie upgrade milestone][], itself part of the [2025 TPA roadmap][]. [freeze dates announced by the debian.org release team]: https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2025/01/msg00004.html [Debian freeze policy]: https://release.debian.org/testing/freeze_policy.html [Debian 13 trixie upgrade milestone]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/groups/tpo/tpa/-/milestones/12 [2025 TPA roadmap]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/wikis/roadmap/2025 # Proposal As usual, we perform the upgrades in three batches, in increasing order of complexity, starting in 2025Q2, hoping to finish by the end of 2025. Note that, this year, this proposal also includes upgrading the Tails infrastructure as well. To help with merging rotations in the two teams, TPA staff will upgrade Tails machines, with Tails folks assistance, and vice-versa. ## Affected users All service admins are affected by this change. If you have shell access on any TPA server, you want to read this announcement. In the past, TPA has typically kept a page detailing notable changes and a proposal like this one would link against the upstream release notes. Unfortunately, at the time writing, upstream hasn't yet produced release notes (as we're still in testing). We're hoping the documentation will be refined by the time we're ready to coordinate the second batch of updates, around May 2025, when we will send reminders to affected teams. We do expect the Debian 13 upgrade to be less disruptive than bookworm, mainly because Python 2 is already retired. ## Notable changes For now, here are some known changes that are already in Debian 13: | Package | 12 (bookworm) | 13 (trixie) | |--------------------|---------------|-------------| | Ansible | 7.7 | 11.2 | | Apache | 2.4.62 | 2.4.63 | | Bash | 5.2.15 | 5.2.37 | | Emacs | 28.2 | 30.1 | | Fish | 3.6 | 4.0 | | Git | 2.39 | 2.45 | | GCC | 12.2 | 14.2 | | Golang | 1.19 | 1.24 | | Linux kernel image | 6.1 series | 6.12 series | | LLVM | 14 | 19 | | MariaDB | 10.11 | 11.4 | | Nginx | 1.22 | 1.26 | | OpenJDK | 17 | 21 | | OpenLDAP | 2.5.13 | 2.6.9 | | OpenSSL | 3.0 | 3.4 | | PHP | 8.2 | 8.4 | | Podman | 4.3 | 5.4 | | PostgreSQL | 15 | 17 | | Prometheus | 2.42 | 2.53 | | Puppet | 7 | 8 | | Python | 3.11 | 3.13 | | Rustc | 1.63 | 1.85 | | Vim | 9.0 | 9.1 | Most of those, except "tool chains" (e.g. LLVM/GCC) can still change, as we're not in the full freeze yet. ## Upgrade schedule The upgrade is split in multiple batches: - automation and installer changes - low complexity: mostly TPA services and less critical Tails servers - moderate complexity: TPA "service admins" machines and remaining Tails physical servers and VMs running services from the official Debian repositories only - high complexity: Tails VMs running services not from the official Debian repositories - cleanup The free time between the first two batches will also allow us to cover for unplanned contingencies: upgrades that could drag on and other work that will inevitably need to be performed. The objective is to do the batches in collective "upgrade parties" that should be "fun" for the team. This policy has proven to be effective in the previous upgrades and we are eager to repeat it again. ### Upgrade automation and installer changes First, we tweak the installers to deploy Debian 13 by default to avoid installing further "old" systems. This includes the bare-metal installers but also and especially the virtual machine installers and container images. Concretely, we're planning on changing the `latest` container image tag to point to `trixie` in early April. A full *year* later, the `bookworm` container images will be retired. Note that we are already planning the retirement of the "old stable" (`bullseye`) container images, see [tpo/tpa/base-images#19][], for which you may have already been contacted. New `idle` canary servers will be setup in Debian 13 to test integration with the rest of the infrastructure, and future new machine installs will be done in Debian 13. We also want to work on automating the upgrade procedure further. We've had catastrophic errors in the PostgreSQL upgrade procedure in the past, in particular, but the whole procedure is now considered ripe for automation, see [tpo/tpa/team#41485][] for details. [tpo/tpa/base-images#19]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/base-images/-/issues/19 [tpo/tpa/team#41485]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/41485 ### Batch 1: low complexity This is scheduled during two weeks: TPA boxes will be upgraded in the last week of April, and Tails in the first week of May. The idea is to start the upgrade long enough before the vacations to give us plenty of time to recover, and some room to start the second batch. In April, Debian should also be in "soft freeze", not quite a fully "stable" environment, but that should be good enough for simple setups. 35 TPA machines: ``` archive-01.torproject.org cdn-backend-sunet-02.torproject.org chives.torproject.org dal-rescue-01.torproject.org dal-rescue-02.torproject.org gayi.torproject.org hetzner-hel1-02.torproject.org hetzner-hel1-03.torproject.org hetzner-nbg1-01.torproject.org hetzner-nbg1-02.torproject.org idle-dal-02.torproject.org idle-fsn-01.torproject.org lists-01.torproject.org loghost01.torproject.org mandos-01.torproject.org media-01.torproject.org minio-01.torproject.org mta-dal-01.torproject.org mx-dal-01.torproject.org neriniflorum.torproject.org ns3.torproject.org ns5.torproject.org palmeri.torproject.org perdulce.torproject.org srs-dal-01.torproject.org ssh-dal-01.torproject.org static-gitlab-shim.torproject.org staticiforme.torproject.org static-master-fsn.torproject.org submit-01.torproject.org vault-01.torproject.org web-dal-07.torproject.org web-dal-08.torproject.org web-fsn-01.torproject.org web-fsn-02.torproject.org ``` 4 Tails machines: ``` ecours.tails.net puppet.lizard skink.tails.net stone.tails.net ``` In the [first batch of bookworm machines][], we ended up taking 20 minutes per machine, done in a single day, but warned that the second batch took longer. It's probably safe to estimate 20 hours (30 minutes per machine) for this work, in a single week. Feedback and coordination of this batch happens in [issue batch 1][]. [first batch of bookworm machines]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/41251 [issue batch 1]: "https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/42071" ### Batch 2: moderate complexity This is scheduled for the last week of may for TPA machines, and the first week of June for Tails. At this point, Debian testing should be in "hard freeze", which should be more stable. 40 TPA machines: ``` anonticket-01.torproject.org backup-storage-01.torproject.org bacula-director-01.torproject.org btcpayserver-02.torproject.org bungei.torproject.org carinatum.torproject.org check-01.torproject.org ci-runner-x86-02.torproject.org ci-runner-x86-03.torproject.org colchicifolium.torproject.org collector-02.torproject.org crm-int-01.torproject.org dangerzone-01.torproject.org donate-01.torproject.org donate-review-01.torproject.org forum-01.torproject.org gitlab-02.torproject.org henryi.torproject.org materculae.torproject.org meronense.torproject.org metricsdb-01.torproject.org metricsdb-02.torproject.org metrics-store-01.torproject.org onionbalance-02.torproject.org onionoo-backend-03.torproject.org polyanthum.torproject.org probetelemetry-01.torproject.org rdsys-frontend-01.torproject.org rdsys-test-01.torproject.org relay-01.torproject.org rude.torproject.org survey-01.torproject.org tbb-nightlies-master.torproject.org tb-build-02.torproject.org tb-build-03.torproject.org tb-build-06.torproject.org tb-pkgstage-01.torproject.org tb-tester-01.torproject.org telegram-bot-01.torproject.org weather-01.torproject.org ``` 17 Tails machines: ``` apt-proxy.lizard apt.lizard bitcoin.lizard bittorrent.lizard bridge.lizard dns.lizard dragon.tails.net gitlab-runner.iguana iguana.tails.net lizard.tails.net mail.lizard misc.lizard puppet-git.lizard rsync.lizard teels.tails.net whisperback.lizard www.lizard ``` The [second batch of bookworm upgrades][] took 33 hours for 31 machines, so about one hour per box. Here we have 57 machines, so it will likely take us 60 hours (or two weeks) to complete the upgrade. Feedback and coordination of this batch happens in [issue batch 2][]. [second batch of bookworm upgrades]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/41252 [issue batch 2]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/42070 ### Batch 3: high complexity Those machines are harder to upgrade, or more critical. In the case of TPA machines, we typically regroup the Ganeti servers and all the "snowflake" servers that are not properly Puppetized and full of legacy, namely the LDAP, DNS, and Puppet servers. That said, we waited a long time to upgrade the Ganeti cluster for bookworm, and it turned out to be trivial, so perhaps those could eventually be made part of the second batch. 15 TPA machines: ``` - [ ] alberti.torproject.org - [ ] dal-node-01.torproject.org - [ ] dal-node-02.torproject.org - [ ] dal-node-03.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-01.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-02.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-03.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-04.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-05.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-06.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-07.torproject.org - [ ] fsn-node-08.torproject.org - [ ] nevii.torproject.org - [ ] pauli.torproject.org - [ ] puppetdb-01.torproject.org ``` It seems like the [bookworm Ganeti upgrade][] took roughly 10h of work. We ballpark the rest of the upgrade to another 10h of work, so possibly 20h. 11 Tails machines: ``` - [ ] isoworker1.dragon - [ ] isoworker2.dragon - [ ] isoworker3.dragon - [ ] isoworker4.dragon - [ ] isoworker5.dragon - [ ] isoworker6.iguana - [ ] isoworker7.iguana - [ ] isoworker8.iguana - [ ] jenkins.dragon - [ ] survey.lizard - [ ] translate.lizard ``` The challenge with Tails upgrades is the coordination with the Tails team, in particular for the Jenkins upgrades. Feedback and coordination of this batch happens in [issue batch 3][]. [bookworm Ganeti upgrade]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/41254 [issue batch 3]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/42069 ### Cleanup work Once the upgrade is completed and the entire fleet is again running a single OS, it's time for cleanup. This involves updating configuration files to the new versions and removing old compatibility code in Puppet, removing old container images, and generally wrapping things up. This process has been historically neglected, but we're hoping to wrap this up, worst case in 2026. ## Timeline - 2025-Q2 - W14 (first week of April): default container image changed to `trixie`, installer defaults changed and first tests in production - W18 (last week of April): Batch 1 upgrades, TPA machines - W19 (first week of May): Batch 1 upgrades, Tails machines - W22 (last week of May): Batch 2 upgrades, TPA machines - W23 (first week of June): Batch 2 upgrades, Tails machines - 2025-Q3 to Q4: Batch 3 upgrades - 2026-Q2: bookworm container image retired ## Deadline The community has until the beginning of the above timeline to manifest concerns or objections. Two weeks before performing the upgrades of each batch, a new announcement will be sent with details of the changes and impacted services. # Alternatives considered ## Retirements or rebuilds We do not plan any major upgrade or retirements in the third phase this time. In the future, we hope to decouple those as much as possible, as the Icinga retirement and Mailman 3 became blockers that slowed down the upgrade significantly for bookworm. In both cases, however, the upgrades *were* challenging and had to be performed one way or another, so it's unclear if we can optimize this any further. We are clear, however, that we will not postpone an upgrade for a server retirement. Dangerzone, for example, is scheduled for retirement ([TPA-RFC-78][]) but is still planned as normal above. [TPA-RFC-78]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/wikis/policy/tpa-rfc-78-danger… # Costs | Task | Estimate | Certainty | Worst case | |-------------------|----------|-----------|------------| | Automation | 20h | extreme | 100h | | Installer changes | 4h | low | 4.4h | | Batch 1 | 20h | low | 22h | | Batch 2 | 60h | medium | 90h | | Batch 3 | 20h | high | 40h | | Cleanup | 20h | medium | 30h | | **Total** | 144h | ~high | ~286h | The entire work here should consist of over 140 hours of work, or 18 days, or about 4 weeks full time. Worst case doubles that. The above is done in "hours" because that's how we estimated batches in the past, but here's an estimate that's based on the [Kaplan-Moss estimation technique][]. [Kaplan-Moss estimation technique]: https://jacobian.org/2021/may/25/my-estimation-technique/ | Task | Estimate | Certainty | Worst case | |-------------------|----------|-----------|------------| | Automation | 3d | extreme | 15d | | Installer changes | 1d | low | 1.1d | | Batch 1 | 3d | low | 3.3d | | Batch 2 | 10d | medium | 20d | | Batch 3 | 3d | high | 6d | | Cleanup | 3d | medium | 4.5d | | **Total** | 23d | ~high | ~50d | This is *roughly* equivalent, if a little higher (23 days instead of 18), for example. It should be noted that automation is not expected to drastically reduce the total time spent in batches (currently 16 days or 100 hours). The main goal of automation is more to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic errors, and make it easier to share our upgrade procedure with the world. We're still hoping to reduce the time spent in batches, hopefully by 10-20%, which would bring the total number of days across batches from 16 days to 14d, or from 100 h to 80 hours. # Approvals required This proposal needs approval from TPA team members, but service admins can request additional delay if they are worried about their service being affected by the upgrade. Comments or feedback can be provided in issues linked above, or the general process can be commented on in issue [tpo/tpa/team#41990][]. # References * [Debian 13 trixie upgrade milestone][] * [discussion ticket][tpo/tpa/team#41990] [TPA bookworm upgrade procedure]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/wikis/howto/upgrades/bookworm [tpo/tpa/team#41990]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/41990 -- Antoine Beaupré torproject.org system administration

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Nina’s Monthly Status Report, March 2025
by Nina 01 Apr '25

01 Apr '25

Hi! Below is my March’25 report! In March, I resolved 676 (↑109) tickets: * On Telegram (@TorProjectSupportBot) - 571 (↑110); * On RT (frontdesk@tpo) - 102 (↓4); * On WhatsApp (+447421000612) - 3 (↑3); * And on Signal (+17787431312) - 0 (0). My main focus in March was helping Russian-speaking users to bypass internet censorship, which includes: - Sharing instructions, - Gathering users' feedback, - Help in troubleshooting any issues they were facing with Tor Browser. I also worked on providing feedback for Google Play Store users’ reviews. In March, I continued participating in translating the Tor Browser user survey to Russian[1] and monitored censorship events in Russia[2], Belarus [3], Kazakhstan [4], and in Türkiye. I also took part in investigating the issue of bookmarks failing in TBA Alpha [5] and collected user feedback on the issue with bridge distribution [6]. I created a new support template for Google Play reviews regarding the bookmark issue[5] and updated existing templates in Russian. *##**Google Play Reviews for Tor Browser**(TBA)**and Tor Browser Alpha**for Android* * Tor Browser for Android had a Google Play rating of *4.406*(↑0.009) stars in March, which is higher than in February’25. * Tor Browser for Android (TBA) got 694 (↑79) reviews out of 61,452 for the lifetime. * Tor Browser for Android Alpha (TBA-Alpha) app had a rating of 4.208 (↓0.011) which is lower than in February’25. * In March, Tor Browser for Android (TBA-Alpha) got 49 (↑7) reviews out of 8,514 for the lifetime. In March the most significant issue reported by users in the comments was the bookmark issue in Tor Browser Alpha [5]. [1] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/community/l10n/-/issues/40152 [2] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/censorship-analysis/-/iss… [3] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/censorship-analysis/-/iss… [4] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/censorship-analysis/-/iss… [5] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43581 [6] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/team/-/issues/156

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PieroV's Monthly Status Report, March 2025
by Pier Angelo Vendrame 01 Apr '25

01 Apr '25

Hi everyone, Here is my status report for March 2025. At the beginning of the month, I continued from where I left last month. First, I finished my proposal about integrating the Lox crate in the browser [tor-browser!1300]. I don't think it'll be merged as it is, but it already contains a lot of new code, so I prefer getting feedback before continuing this task. Then, I continued the rebase on Firefox 132 [tor-browser#43413]. Over the month, I worked on several issues related to Go and pluggable transports. I started by updating Go to 1.23.6 on alpha [tor-browser-build#41386]. Previously, we were on 1.22, but it went EOL, so we decided to update. However, we had to keep the old version for macOS since we still want to support macOS 10.15. We used to bootstrap Go starting from 1.4, the last version written in C. However, 1.23 required an additional version in the bootstrap chain, so I took the occasion to investigate the toolchain reproducibility. It's amazing: the 1.23.6 built with our chain matches bit-by-bit the official release from Google. Therefore, we switched to the official binaries as bootstrappers [tor-browser-build#41121]. Also about PTs, I created an automation to keep their license files updated [tor-browser-build#41411], and, in general, I reworked the way we include licenses for Tor and its dependencies [tor-browser-build!1188] (however, this MR hasn't been merged yet). I also worked a little bit on fingerprinting and screen size protection. First, I finalized the patch to spoof screen size differently from what we're currently doing [tor-browser#41747]. Even though it doesn't reduce entropy, it should help with some basic fingerprinting scripts and bot detection. However, we preferred to push the fix to 15.0 since we would like it to be tested for some time before shipping it to stable, and 14.5 is too close according to our plans. Then, I fixed an issue about letterboxing visible albeit disabled in some cases [tor-browser#42670]. I also investigated the upstream patches for window.devicePixelRatio in RFP, as Thorin found a problem with them [tor-browser#43239]. Eventually, I opened an upstream Bug [Bug 1954493] and sent a patch there first. I also worked on a few smaller issues, like adding string files with branding on Android [tor-browser#43464], adding a "What's new" link to the About dialog [tor-browser#42720], and more. Best, Pier [tor-browser#41747] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/41747 [tor-browser#42670] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42670 [tor-browser#42720] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42720 [tor-browser#43239] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43239 [tor-browser#43413] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43413 [tor-browser#43464] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43464 [tor-browser!1300] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/merge_requests… [tor-browser-build#41121] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-build/-/issues/4… [tor-browser-build#41386] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-build/-/issues/4… [tor-browser-build#41411] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-build/-/issues/4… [tor-browser-build!1188] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-build/-/merge_re… [Bug 1954493] https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1954493

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