No Cover Image

Journal article 131 views 5 downloads

ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser

Nicholas Micallef Orcid Logo, Cameron Cartier, Kevin Gallagher, Lucas Zagal, Sameer Patil

Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, Volume: 2026, Issue: 1, Pages: 393 - 410

Swansea University Author: Nicholas Micallef Orcid Logo

  • 70986.VOR.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

    Download (829.02KB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.56553/popets-2026-0020

Abstract

The privacy properties of Tor Browser and the privacy sensitivity of its user base preclude the collection of traditional telemetry and analytics to understand the problems users face. To address the lack of telemetry and analytics, we developed ReporTor, a plugin to facilitate anonymous, voluntary...

Full description

Published in: Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies
ISSN: 2299-0984
Published: Privacy Enhancing Technologies Board 2026
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70986
Abstract: The privacy properties of Tor Browser and the privacy sensitivity of its user base preclude the collection of traditional telemetry and analytics to understand the problems users face. To address the lack of telemetry and analytics, we developed ReporTor, a plugin to facilitate anonymous, voluntary reporting of problems during naturalistic browsing via Tor Browser. We confirmed the utility and effectiveness of ReporTor by reporting the problems we encountered during a month of naturalistic web browsing via Tor Browser. Reports submitted via ReporTor enabled nuanced, in-depth analysis of the causes underlying the reported problems. Integrating ReporTor into Tor Browser can leverage its anonymous user-driven issue reporting to surface the challenges users encounter when visiting websites with Tor Browser. Analyzing and addressing the reports can enhance the user experience of Tor Browser for everyday web browsing.
Keywords: Tor, Tor Browser, User Experience, Privacy, Anonymity, Issue Reports
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: This work is supported by UID/04516/NOVA Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics (NOVA LINCS) with the financial support of FCT.IP.
Issue: 1
Start Page: 393
End Page: 410

Similar Items