[tor-project] New Tor Metrics graph: Tor Browser downloads and updates

[Karsten Loesing]

Hi Isabela,

On 27/01/17 22:34, isabela wrote:
> Awesome stuff!

Yay!

> On 1/27/17 10:15, Karsten Loesing wrote:
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> we just put a new graph on Tor Metrics called "Tor Browser downloads and
>> updates":
>>
>> https://metrics.torproject.org/webstats-tb.html
>>
>> This graph is the result of a joint effort of the metrics team (with a
>> lot of input on the underlying code from iwakeh) together with Sebastian
>> (who co-authored the original database schema and who operates the web
>> log sanitizer), gk and boklm (who analyze an earlier graph and provided
>> insights about Tor Browser internals), and others who discussed the
>> graph and earlier prototypes.
> 
> Thanks everyone!
> 
>> Please take a look at this graph, play a bit with the two inputs (start
>> and end date), and give us feedback by raising questions about the data
>> or giving answers to previously raised questions.
>>
>> The goal would be to write a blog post about this graph together with an
>> early analysis.
>>
>> Currently open questions are:
>>
>>  - gk asks on the ticket
>> (https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/21236#comment:11): "The
>> results still confuse me (like: We have 100,000 new downloads each day
>> but that does not show up in the update pings which basically stay the
>> same? We still have more than 120,000 update requests every day, even
>> after almost 6 weeks after the last release?). But that is probably
>> another story. :)"
>>
>>  - hellais asked at yesterday's Vegas meeting: "how many times does a
>> normal tor browser do an update ping every day?" which was answered by
>> mikeperry and gk with "twice" "and on every start".  This is probably
>> something we should clarify in the graph description.
>
> + 1

(Agreed.  Let's collect a few more items that need clarification and
then edit the description.)

>>  - yawning asks on the ticket
>> (https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/21236#comment:25):
>> "Does it matter that the Linux sandbox behavior is totally different
>> from everyone else, because it uses a different implementation to
>> download, update check, and update? I suspect the user base isn't that
>> big right now, but I'd hate to throw stats off..."
>>
> 
> Would be possible to have the sandbox stats and also have a total stats
> that ads it up to all TBB downloads?

What requests do users make to download the Linux sandbox thing, and how
does it check for updates and request them?

For comparison, here are the patterns we're currently using:

https://metrics.torproject.org/stats.html#webstats

And for even more detail, here's the SQL:

https://gitweb.torproject.org/metrics-web.git/tree/modules/webstats/src/main/resources/init-webstats.sql#n29

> (I +1 Arthur's suggestion for a break down by release and cumulative data)

(See my response to Arthur.)

>> Note that we're mostly hoping for feedback on the data, not on the
>> presentation. 
> 
> I wonder if we could add the metrics from google play store on orfox and
> orbot. If there is an api or something and if that would be too much work.

I'm afraid that adding another data source than our webstats is out of
scope for the moment.  It's certainly interesting for the future, and we
should keep it in mind.  But it's out of reach if we also want to
fulfill our many other commitments.  Sorry.

> !!! thanks a lot for this !!!

Glad it's useful. :)

> Isabela

All the best,
Karsten


-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 495 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://lists.torproject.org/pipermail/tor-project/attachments/20170129/1cea5032/attachment.sig>