Hello everyone, This is the report from user support team for the month of September. 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. - Summary of updates from user support - Farsi-speaking user support - Russian-speaking user support - General user support - Frontdesk (email user support channel) - Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal user support channels - Topics from the Tor Forum - Highlights from Google Play Store # Summary of updates from user support * With the release of Tor VPN Beta, we have received number of questions on how to get started testing the app, signing up for the beta through Play Store, questions and feedback about the app as well as help with troubleshooting on the Tor Forum [1] and other support channels. We are keeping track of these requests and feedback on our bug tracker.[2] * Last month, we answered a significant number of support requests for WebTunnel bridges. For some context, newer Telegram accounts were unable to request these bridges directly from our Telegram Bridge Distributor (@GetBridgesBot) and were therefore encouraged to contact us on our support channels. With the Telegram distributor now sharing WebTunnel bridges with all Telegram users [3], we are noticing a big drop in such requests in October. A big shoutout to onyinyang for implementing these changes to the Telegram Bridge Distributor! ## Farsi-speaking user support * 88 tickets in total (↓3 as compared to August) * 83 tickets on Telegram * 5 tickets on Email ## Russian-speaking user support * 2045 tickets in total (↓234 as compared to August) * 1883 tickets on Telegram * 160 tickets on Email * 2 tickets on Signal * In recent months, we've noticed that among the group of Russian-speaking users, we're now also receiving bridge requests every month from users in Belarus. Although the Tor usage in the country on Tor Metrics appears normal, we don't know whether some parts of Tor are being blocked there, and further investigation into possible Tor censorship in the country is needed. * On the Tor Forum, Russian users pointed out a new 'whitelisting' method being implemented in the country and how Tor is unable to connect during the 'curfew' hours.[4] ## General user support * 927 tickets in total (↓159 as compared to August) * 504 tickets on Email * 405 tickets on Telegram * 18 tickets on Signal * Bridges with WebTunnel pluggable transport working most reliably for users in China, we received a number of tickets with queries on how to obtain such bridges and how to use them in Tor Browser and Tails. That's it for the summary, following is a more detailed report about the tickets our user support team worked on last month. # Frontdesk (email user support channel) * 605(↓) RT tickets created * 669(↑) RT tickets resolved Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 309(↓) tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. 2. 160(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 3. 54(↑) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux). 4. 15(↑) tickets: questions, feedback and help with troubleshooting Tor VPN beta. 5. 7(↑) tickets: questions about which Tor app to install on iOS (i.e. Onion Browser or Orbot). 6. 5(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 7. 3(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Android. 8. 3(↑) tickets: help with instructions to download, install or properly uninstalling Tor Browser. 9. 3(↑) tickets: reports of websites blocking Tor connections or not performing well in Tor Browser. 10. 3(↑) tickets: reports of email bridge distributor (bridges@torproject.org) not responding. The issue is resolved. 11. 3(↑) tickets: reports of DuckDuckGo's HTML page and search results displayed incorrectly on Safest security level.[5] 12. 2(-) tickets: question about onion services and how to access them. 13. 2(↑) tickets: reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore masquerading as official Tor Browser. 14. 2(↑) tickets: users seeing a "proxy refused" error when visiting websites on Tor Browser for Android using Samsung devices. 15. 2(↑) tickets: question about changes to the Security level settings on latest versions of Tor Browser. The browser prompts a restart when changing the Security Level for changes to properly take effect. 16. 2(↑) tickets: instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for legacy operating systems. 17. 2(↑) tickets: question about installing extensions and add-ons on Tor Browser. 18. 1(-) ticket: help with installing Tor Browser on Desktop on Linux. 19. 1(↑) ticket: help with verifying Tor Browser's GPG signature. 20. 1(↑) ticket: report of Tor Browser conflicting with anti-virus installed on users' device. (It was a false alarm and the issue is resolved). 21. 1(↑) ticket: question on how DNS resolution works when using Tor (Browser). 22. 1(↑) ticket: help with setting up a Tor relay. # Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal user support channels * 2391(↓) tickets resolved Breakdown: * 2371(↓) tickets on Telegram * 20(↑) tickets on Signal * No tickets on WhatsApp Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 1885(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 2. 155(↓) tickets: WebTunnel bridge requests from users with newer Telegram accounts and unable to receive one from the @GetBridgesBot on Telegram. 3. 202(↓) tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. Note: There is a significant overlap in the WebTunnel bridge request tickets on our support channels and support requests from Russian and Chinese speaking users. 4. 83(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 5. 36(↑) tickets: instructions to use WebTunnel bridges with Tor Browser. 6. 22(↑) tickets: questions, feedback and help with troubleshooting Tor VPN beta. 7. 20(↓) tickets: helping users on iOS, using Onion Browser or Orbot, to use censorship circumvention methods. 8. 12(↑) tickets: help with instructions to troubleshoot Tails operating system. 9. 7(↓) tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from GetTor. 10. 5(↑) tickets: questions about onion services and how to access them. 11. 10(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor Browser Desktop on Windows, macOS and Linux. 12. 4(↓) tickets: help with using Snowflake with Tor to circumvent censorship. 13. 3(↓) tickets: users seeing a "proxy refused" error when visiting websites on Tor Browser for Android using Samsung devices. 14. 3(↑) tickets: help with installing Tor Browser on Desktop on Linux. 15. 3(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor Browser Android. 16. 2(↓) tickets: help with instructions to use bridges with Orbot on Android. 17. 2(↑) tickets: instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for legacy operating systems. 18. 2(↑) tickets: help with troublehsooting tor, the network daemon, aka little-t tor. 19. 1(↓) ticket: instructions to verify Tor Browser's GPG signature. 20. 1(↑) ticket: reports of DuckDuckGo's HTML page and search results displayed incorrectly on Safest security level. 21. 1(↑) ticket: can't install Tor Browser for macOS when downloading the dmg file from Telegram GetTor.[6] # Topics from the Tor Forum * Help us test the new Tor User Support Portal.[7] Highlighting some other discussion topics and, in general, frequently asked questions on our support forums: * Should I set Tor Browser as my default browser? [8] * Tor support and discussion channel.[9] * Images uploaded on Tor Browser (Desktop and Android) are randomized for Canvas Fingerprinting protection.[10] # Highlights from Google Play Store * Tor Browser for Android (TBA) had a Google Play rating of 4.4 (↑0.008) stars in September, which is higher as compared to in August. * In September, Tor Browser for Android (TBA) got 724 (↓46) new reviews. The total count of reviews for the app stands at 65,186. * Tor Browser for Android Alpha (TBA Alpha) app had a rating of 4.196 (↑0.016) in September, which is higher as compared to in August. * In September, Tor Browser for Android Alpha (TBA Alpha) got 32 (↑2) new reviews. The total count of reviews for the app stands at 8,671. * The major concern that Tor Browser users express in the comments is regarding the browsing speed. This issue is currently under investigation [11]. * Also there are many comments from users in regions where Tor is censored and whenever possible, we are encouraging users to reach out to our support channels directly. Thanks! -- ebanam [1]: https://forum.torproject.org/tag/torvpn-beta [2]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/community/support/-/issues/40225 [3]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/rdsys/-/merge_requests/589 [4]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/help-find-working-method-to-circumvent-intern... [5]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/44239 [6]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser-build/-/issues/41... [7]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/tor-project-soft-release-help-us-test-the-new... [8]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/tor-browser-as-default-browser/20580 [9]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/tor-users-chats/20569 [10]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/why-cant-i-upload-images-using-the-tbb/20525 [11]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/43841