Hello everyone, This is the report from user support team for the month of February 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 * 596 tickets in total (↑9 as compared to January) * 423 tickets on Email * 127 tickets on Telegram * 20 tickets on Signal * 26 tickets on WhatsApp * Tor Browser legacy for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 and macOS 10.12, 10.13 and 10.14 received it's final update, i.e. Tor Browser 13.5.29 and we updated the [Forum guide][] with up-to-date instructions. Users on legacy operating systems are encouraged to update to the [supported operating systems][]. [Forum guide]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/download-tor-browser-13-5-legacy-on-windows-7... [supported operating system]: https://support.torproject.org/tor-browser/getting-started/installing/ ## Chinese-speaking user support * Updated the [support entry][] with instructions to censorship circumvention for users in China, to make it more clear that users can get WebTunnel bridges using our Telegram bot (GetBridgesBot) and the bridges website. [support entry]: https://support.torproject.org/tor-browser/circumvention/connecting-from-cen... ## Farsi-speaking user support * 108 tickets in total (↓149 as compared to January) * 27 tickets on Email * 81 tickets on Telegram * We have observed reports of severe filtering measures on Iran’s internet network. Users using Tor with Snowflake reported it has not been working reliably and we have been encouraging users to try connecting to Tor with WebTunnel bridges and [dnstt][] servers (a DNS tunnel to circumvent internet censorship) available through our [dnstt servers distributor][] on Telegram as an alternative. Since the onset of the war, the government has imposed a nationwide internet shutdown. Only a limited number of whitelisted services remain accessible and, as per user reports, most censorship circumvention tools are not working. [dnstt]: https://dnstt.network/ [dnstt servers distributor]: https://t.me/getdnsttbot ## Russian-speaking user support * 888 tickets in total (↑112 as compared to January) * 157 tickets on Email * 725 tickets on Telegram * 6 tickets on WhatsApp * We received many tickets from Russian users of Tor VPN Beta after an article about the app was published in [Meduza][], a popular dissident media outlet. The user support tickets primarily concerning troubleshooting and helping users with instructions to use bridges. * There are multiple requests from the users who are worried about ["whitelist"][] periods when only services from the list are available and all these services are based in Russia. Tor is not available during these periods which can last for hours. [Meduza]: https://meduza.io/cards/sozdateli-tor-odnogo-iz-samyh-nadezhnyh-instrumentov... ["whitelist"]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/censorship-analysis/-/issu... # Frontdesk (email user support channel) * 485(↓) RT tickets created * 607(↓) RT tickets resolved Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 181(↓) tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. 2. 157(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 3. 73(↑) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux). 4. 27(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 5. 13(↑) tickets: help with installing, uninstalling and updating Tor Browser and Desktop. 6. 11(↑) tickets: reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore masquerading as official Tor Browser and questions about which Tor app to install on iOS (i.e. Onion Browser or Orbot). 7. 6(↑) tickets: report of websites blocking Tor connections or not performing well in Tor Browser. 8. 5(↑) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor VPN beta. 9. 5(↑) tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from GetTor. 10. 4(↑) tickets: help with setting up Snowflake proxy. 11. 4(↑) tickets: issues with various onion services. The concerned onion services are not maintained by the Tor Project and users are encouraged to report any issues to the onion service operator directly. 12. 3(↑) tickets: users seeing a "proxy refused" error when visiting websites on Tor Browser for Android using Samsung devices. 13. 3(↑) tickets: question about modifying the Tor circuit in Tor Browser. 14. 3(↑) tickets: questions about recommended Tor apps to install on iOS (Onion Browser and Orbot). 15. 3(↑) tickets: instructions for importing and exporting bookmarks on Tor Browser Desktop. 16. 2(↑) tickets: reports of bugs with Tor Browser for Android Alpha 16.0a1 and 16.0a2 (The bugs are resolved in the later versions). 17. 2(↑) tickets: instructions to install little-t tor. 18. 2(↑) tickets: [uBlock Origin integration][] with Tor Browser. 19. 2(↓) tickets: instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for legacy operating systems. 20. 2(↑) tickets: help with post-install steps for running a Tor bridge and configuring a bridge distribution method for Tor bridge. 21. 2(↑) tickets: reports of anti-virus software blocking Tor Browser from running on Windows. 22. 2(↑) tickets: unable to save passwords on Tor Browser Desktop. 23. 2(↑) tickets: instructions to setup a Tor Relay. 24. 1(↓) ticket: reports of links on the new support portal giving a 404. 25. 1(-) ticket: question about contributing to Tor. 26. 1(↑) ticket: how to [report Bad Relays][]. 27. 1(↑) ticket: question about Tor Browser Alpha and how is it different from Tor Browser stable. 28. 1(↑) ticket: Error prompting that DLL files are missing when installing / running Tor Browser for Windows. 29. 1(↑) ticket: help with using bridges with Tails. 30. 1(↑) ticket: instructions to install Tor Browser Android from F-Droid. 31. 1(↑) ticket: instructions to setup an onion service. 32. 1(↑) ticket: latest versions of Tor not available from Tor Project's RPM repository for Fedora and CentOS. (The issue has been resolved). 33. 1(↑) ticket: [WebTunnel bridges][] are not available from the Bridges website intermittently.[] 34. 1(↑) ticket: list the [system codecs][] required to run Tor Browser Linux.[] 35. 1(↑) ticket: [Mouse not working][] after updating to Tails 7.4.2.[] 36. 1(↑) ticket: [Tor Browser Flatpak fails to launch][] could not import module PySide6.QtGui. (The issue is resolved). [uBlock Origin integration]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/ublock-origin-integration-with-tor-browser/19... [report Bad Relays]: https://community.torproject.org/relay/community-resources/bad-relays/ [WebTunnel bridges]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/rdsys/-/issues/297 [system codecs]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/marble/support/-/issues/104 [Mouse not working]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/mouse-not-working-immediately-after-updating-... [Tor Browser Flatpak fails to launch]: https://github.com/flathub/org.torproject.torbrowser-launcher/issues/180 # Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal user support channels * 985(↑) tickets resolved Breakdown: * 933(↓) tickets on Telegram * 20(↑) tickets on Signal * 32(↑) tickets on WhatsApp Tickets by topics and numbers: 1. 731(↑) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking countries. 2. 81(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi. 3. 70(↑) tickets: using bridges with Tor VPN Beta. 4. 31(↑) tickets: helping users on iOS, using Onion Browser or Orbot, to use censorship circumvention methods. 5. 27(↓) tickets: instructions to circumvent censorship for Chinese speaking users. 6. 23(↓) tickets: instructions to use manually obtained bridges with Tor Browser. 7. 17(↑) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux). 8. 15(↓) tickets: help with instructions to use bridges with Orbot on Android. 9. 10(↑) tickets: GetBridgesBot on Telegram freezes and stops sending bridges and users have to clear chat history. 10. 7(↓) tickets: help with troubleshooting existing Tor Browser install on Android. 11. 6(-) tickets: instructions to use WebTunnel bridges with Tor Browser. 12. 5(↓) tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from GetTor. 13. 4(↑) tickets: help with troubleshooting Tor VPN beta. 14. 4(↑) tickets: help with installing Tor Browser on Desktop on Linux. 15. 3(-) tickets: questions about onion services and how to access them. 16. 3(↓) tickets: help with using Snowflake with Tor to circumvent censorship. 17. 2(↑) tickets: reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore masquerading as official Tor Browser and questions about which Tor app to install on iOS (i.e. Onion Browser or Orbot). 18. 2(-) tickets: help with configuring bridges to use with little-t tor (the network daemon). 19. 1(↓) ticket: instructions to download Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for legacy operating systems. 20. 1(↓) ticket: users seeing a "proxy refused" error when visiting websites on Tor Browser for Android using Samsung devices. 21. 1(↑) ticket: instructions to verify Tor Browser's GPG signature. 22. 1(↑) ticket: Tor Browser on Arm Linux support. # Highlights from the Tor Forum 1. [Tor Browser 13.5.29][] is the final update to the Tor Browser 13.5 legacy for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and macOS 10.12-10.14. 2. Understanding [Font Fingerprinting][] on Tor Browser. [Tor Browser 13.5.29]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/download-tor-browser-13-5-legacy-on-windows-7... [Font Fingerprinting]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/understanding-font-fingerprinting/21260 # Highlights from Google Play Store ## Tor Browser for Android * Tor Browser for Android (TBA) had a Google Play rating of 4.416 (↑0.02) stars in February, which is higher as compared to in January. * Tor Browser for Android (TBA) got 660 (↓24) new reviews. The total count of reviews for the app stands at 68,037. * For Tor Browser, the most common issue mentioned was the censorship against browser in the countries like Russia, China, Iran. ## Tor Browser for Android Alpha * Tor Browser for Android Alpha app had a rating of 4.131 (↓0.001) in February which is lower as compared to in January. * In February, Tor Browser for Android Alpha got 15 (↓12) new reviews. The total count of reviews for the app stands at 8,772. ## Tor VPN Beta * Tor VPN beta was installed almost 83,000 (↑12,000) times by the end of February. The top 5 countries by the number of installations being (in descending order): Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, India, and the United States. Thanks! -- ebanam