Hello everyone, This is the report from user support team for the month of May 2026. 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 - General user support - Farsi-speaking user support - Russian-speaking user support - Frontdesk (email user support channel) - Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal user support channels - Highlights from the Tor Forum - Highlights from Google Play Store # Summary of updates from user support ## General user support * 359 tickets in total (↓96) * 115 tickets on Telegram * 17 tickets on WhatsApp * 2 tickets on Signal * We received several user reports of bridge shared from the automatic bridge distributors and from our user support channels not parsing correctly on [Orbot][] and [Tor VPN beta][]. * Updated the support documentation in light of the upcoming major Tor Browser stable (Tor Browser 16.0) dropping support for [32-bit Linux][] operating systems. [Orbot]: https://github.com/guardianproject/orbot-android/issues/1695 [Tor VPN beta]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/onionmasq/-/work_items/174 [32-bit Linux]: https://support.torproject.org/tor-browser/security/legacy-os/#legacy-linux ## Farsi-speaking user support * 115 tickets in total (↑15) * 50 tickets on Email * 65 tickets on Telegram * Since the end of May, reports emerged stating relaxation in the severe internet shutdown in Iran. We received mixed feedback with some users reporting they were able to reconnect to the global internet while many also reporting about the ongoing internet censorship, unstable connections, and limited access to most websites and platforms. In this timeframe, as per [Tor metrics][], there has been a significant uptick in Tor usage from Iran. At this moment, we are collecting user feedback from users about their experiences with trying to connect to Tor with various Tor apps like Tor Browser, Orbot, Tor VPN beta and little-t tor using different pluggable transports. [Tor metrics]: https://metrics.torproject.org/userstats-bridge-country.html?start=2026-03-1... ## Russian-speaking user support * 567 tickets in total (↓48) * 208 tickets on Email (↑14) * 351 tickets on Telegram (↓63) * 6 tickets on WhatsApp * We began collecting user feedback encouraging users to test dnstt bridges to bypass internet restriction during internet shutdowns affecting mobile internet in Russia. # Frontdesk (email user support channel) * 510(↑) RT tickets created * 483(↓) RT tickets resolved Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 208(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 2. 99(↓) tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. 3. 52(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux). 4. 50(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 5. 13(↑) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor VPN beta. 6. 5(↑) tickets: can't use Tor VPN when Private DNS is configured on Android's Network settings. 7. 4(↓) tickets: reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore masquerading as official Tor Browser. 8. 4(↑) tickets: questions about Orbot. 9. 3(↓) tickets: report of websites blocking Tor connections or not performing well in Tor Browser. + 2 facebook 10. 3(↑) tickets: reports of download links for Tor Browser 15.0.14 showing an error (The issue was temporary and is fixed). 11. 2(↑) tickets: support for Tor Browser on ChromeOS. 12. 2(↑) tickets: query about onion services and how they work. 13. 1(↓) ticket: instructions to install Tor Browser on Linux. 14. 1(↑) ticket: help wioth reactivating Tor GitLab account. 15. 1(↑) ticket: instructions to download and install Tor Browser. 16. 1(↑) ticket: instructions to importing / exporting bookmarks in Tor Browser. 17. 1(↑) ticket: Tor VPN not working on [Android 9][]. 18. 1(↑) ticket: question about support for Tor Browser on legacy operating systems. 19. 1(↑) ticket: question on how Tor works. 20. 1(↑) ticket: how to change the 'exit' in the Tor circuit on Tor VPN. 21. 1(↑) ticket: unable to [save images][] from Tor Browser (The issue is affecting torbrowser-launcher downloaded from Manjaro Linux's repository). 22. 1(↑) ticket: instructions to update Tor VPN. 23. 1(↑) ticket: question about [Funding the Commons][] campaign. 24. 1(↓) ticket: help with troubleshooting Tor Browser for Android. 25. 1(↑) ticket: report of [Tor Browser Launcher Flatpak][] on Linux not working (The issue has been resolved.) 26. 1(↑) ticket: instructions to verify Tor Browser's GPG signature. 27. 1(↑) ticket: query on why Tor Browser Android is not available on Android's Sharesheet options. 28. 1(↑) ticket: help with configuring little-t-tor. 29. 1(↑) ticket: query about using the password manager on Tor Browser desktop. [Android 9]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/vpn/-/work_items/488 [save images]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/cant-save-images/21440/10 [Funding the Commons]: https://blog.torproject.org/fund-internet-freedom/ [Tor Browser Launcher Flatpak]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/torbrowser-launcher/-/work_it... # Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal user support channels * 556(↓) tickets resolved Breakdown: * 531(↓) tickets on Telegram * 2(↓) tickets on Signal * 23(↑) tickets on WhatsApp Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 357(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 2. 65(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 3. 28(↑) tickets: instructions to use [dnstt bridges with Orbot][]. 4. 23(↓) tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. 5. 16(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor VPN beta. 6. 16(↑) tickets: questions about which Tor app to install on iOS (i.e. Onion Browser or Orbot). 7. 14(↑) tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from GetTor. 8. 10(-) tickets: helping users on iOS, using Onion Browser or Orbot, to use censorship circumvention methods. 9. 10(-) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Android. 10. 9(↓) tickets: instructions to fetch bridges from Bridge distributors on Telegram or Email and use them with Tor Browser and Tor VPN beta. 11. 9(↓) tickets: help with using bridges with Tor VPN Beta. 12. 8(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux). 13. 4(↑) tickets: help with installing Tor Browser on Desktop on Linux. 14. 4(-) tickets: help with using bridges with Tails. 15. 2(↓) tickets: help with configuring bridges to use with little-t tor (the network daemon). 16. 2(-) tickets: reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore masquerading as official Tor Browser. 17. 2(↑) tickets: questions about onion services and how to access them. 18. 2(↑) tickets: report of websites blocking Tor connections or not performing well in Tor Browser. 19. 2(↑) tickets: can't use Tor VPN when Private DNS is configured on Android's Network settings. 20. 1(↑) ticket: [captcha][] when requesting bridges from within Tor Browser not working (The issue has been resolved.) 21. 1(↓) ticket: query about Tor Browser support legacy operating systems. 22. 1(↑) ticket: [GMS apps][] (e.g. Gemini) are not present on Apps view on Tor VPN. 23. 1(↑) ticket: [GetTor][] email distributor not working with some Russian email providers. 24. 1(↑) ticket: feature request to [pause Tor VPN][] for specific time periods. [captcha]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/work_items/4499... [GMS apps]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/vpn/-/work_items/486 [GetTor]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/gettor-project/OnionSprout... [pause Tor VPN]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/vpn/-/work_items/498 # Highlights from the Tor Forum * Increase in [Snowflake proxy][] traffic. * [WebTunnel bridges][] getting blocked in Turkmenistan. [Snowflake proxy]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/big-increase-in-snowflake-proxy-traffic-recen... [WebTunnel bridges]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/webtunnel-bridge-blocked-by-ip-in-turkmenista... # Highlights from Google Play Store ## Tor Browser for Android * Tor Browser for Android (TBA) had a Google Play rating of 4.43 stars in May, which is higher compared to in April. * Tor Browser for Android (TBA) got 531 (↑23) new reviews. The total count of reviews for the app stands at 69,226. * For Tor Browser, the most common issue mentioned on reviews was the censorship against Tor in countries like Russia, China, Iran. ## Tor Browser for Android Alpha * Tor Browser for Android Alpha app had a rating of 4.125 (↓0.003) in May which is lower compared to April. * In May, Tor Browser for Android Alpha got 13 (↑1) new reviews. The total count of reviews for the app stands at 8,789. ## Tor VPN Beta * Tor VPN beta number of unique daily users is around 73,000 at the end of May. * The top 5 countries by the number of installations being (in descending order): Russia, Iran, India, the United States, and Turkmenistan. Thanks! -- ebanam