[tor-project] ebanam's monthy status report and user support report for June 2024

[ebanam]

Hello all,

This is my monthly report for June. Much of my focus last month was
around the Tor Browser 13.5 release, i.e. updating various user-facing
documentation and post-release user support. I finished updating the Tor
Browser Manual[0] in preparation for the release as well as the Support
Portal[1]. After the release, we received numerous tickets about the
'New Identity' feature not working in Tor Browser for Android[2] and
questions about the banner warning users about the upcoming end-of-life
for Windows ≤8.1 and macOS ≤10.14[3].

Last month, we saw another uptick in support request from Chinese
speaking users which can be attributed to the ongoing outreach work[4].
Continuing our investigation of the significant drop in user support
tickets via email from Russian speaking users we found there were a few
emails wrongly flagged by our email spam filters[5], although that still
doesn't explain what's the main issue.

Following is a more detailed breakdown of tickets our user support team
handled in June:

# Frontdesk (email support channel)

* 569(↑) RT tickets created
* 501(↑) RT tickets resolved

Tickets by numbers:

1. 305(↑) RT tickets: private bridge requests from Chinese speaking
users.
2. 72(↓) RT tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking
countries.

Tor Browser 13.5 related tickets:

3. 7 RT tickets: 'New Identity' feature is not working in latest
versions of Tor Browser for Android[2].
4. 4 RT tickets: Questions about the banner warning users about the
upcoming EOL for Win ≤8.1 and macOS ≤10.14[3].

Highlighting some other topics we received questions and feedback:

5. 3 RT tickets: Help troubleshooting Tor Browser on Windows 10/11.
6. 3 RT tickets: Instructions and help with verifying Tor Browser's PGP
signature.
7. 3 RT tickets: Report of websites blocking Tor.
8. 2 RT tickets: Reports of Tor Browser for Android not working with
Samsung devices[6].
9. 2 RT tickets: Circumventing censorship with Tor in Farsi
10. 2 RT tickets: Reports of fake apps on iOS AppStore, masquerading as
Tor Browser.
11. 2 RT tickets: Questions about modifying torrc to select
specific countries to exit from. We discourage users from modifying this
and let Tor Browser choose it's own circuit, until and unless they are
really sure of what they are trying to do.
12. Help with setting up an onion service.
13. Instructions on how to import bookmarks in Tor Browser (Desktop).

# Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal Support channel

* 555(↓) tickets resolved

Breakdown:
* 532(↓) tickets on Telegram
* 20(↓) tickets on WhatsApp
* 3(↑) ticket on Signal

Tickets by numbers:

1. 299(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship in Russian speaking
countries.
2. 45(↑) tickets: private bridge requests from Chinese
speaking users.
3. 37(↓) tickets: circumventing censorship with Tor in
Farsi.
4. 14 tickets: helping users on iOS, using Onion Browser or
Orbot, to use censorship circumvention methods.

Highlighting some other topics we received questions about:

5. 3 tickets: instructions on how to get Tor Browser binaries from
GetTor.
6. 3 tickets: Troubleshooting Tor Browser on Linux.
7. 3 tickets: instructions on using bridges with little-t-tor.
8. 3 tickets: Troubleshooting Tor Browser on macOS

# Highlights from the Tor Forum

1. Snowflake browser extension requires opt-in consent.[7]
2. Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 will be discontinued after the
release of Tor Browser 14, scheduled for the end of 2024. Users on these
operating systems are strongly advised to upgrade to maintain access to
the most recent updates and security features provided by Tor Browser.[8]

Thanks! e.

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.

[0]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/manual/-/commits/main?author=ebanam
[1]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/commits/main?author=ebanam
[2]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42589
[3]: https://tb-manual.torproject.org/installation/#system-requirements
[4]: https://github.com/torproject/tor4zh
[5]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/tpa/team/-/issues/41664
[6]: https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/applications/tor-browser/-/issues/42714
[7]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/snowflake-browser-extension-requires-opt-in-consent/13232/
[8]: https://forum.torproject.org/t/what-happens-when-using-older-than-windows-10-os-after-the-release-of-the-ver-14/13345/
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