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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

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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...

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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
first_indexed 2025-11-25T16:25:23Z
last_indexed 2026-02-24T05:32:23Z
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spelling 2026-02-23T16:01:44.7745530 v2 70986 2025-11-25 ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser 1cc4c84582d665b7ee08fb16f5454671 0000-0002-2683-8042 Nicholas Micallef Nicholas Micallef true false 2025-11-25 MACS 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. Journal Article Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies 2026 1 393 410 Privacy Enhancing Technologies Board 2299-0984 Tor, Tor Browser, User Experience, Privacy, Anonymity, Issue Reports 1 1 2026 2026-01-01 10.56553/popets-2026-0020 COLLEGE NANME Mathematics and Computer Science School COLLEGE CODE MACS Swansea University Not Required This work is supported by UID/04516/NOVA Laboratory for Computer Science and Informatics (NOVA LINCS) with the financial support of FCT.IP. 2026-02-23T16:01:44.7745530 2025-11-25T16:06:12.8132860 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Mathematics and Computer Science - Computer Science Nicholas Micallef 0000-0002-2683-8042 1 Cameron Cartier 2 Kevin Gallagher 3 Lucas Zagal 4 Sameer Patil 5 70986__36289__766c0ec357c34d49a25a4ab7ef97d391.pdf 70986.VOR.pdf 2026-02-23T15:57:58.9355636 Output 848921 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser
spellingShingle ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser
Nicholas Micallef
title_short ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser
title_full ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser
title_fullStr ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser
title_full_unstemmed ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser
title_sort ReporTor: Facilitating User Reporting of Issues Encountered in Naturalistic Web Browsing via Tor Browser
author_id_str_mv 1cc4c84582d665b7ee08fb16f5454671
author_id_fullname_str_mv 1cc4c84582d665b7ee08fb16f5454671_***_Nicholas Micallef
author Nicholas Micallef
author2 Nicholas Micallef
Cameron Cartier
Kevin Gallagher
Lucas Zagal
Sameer Patil
format Journal article
container_title Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies
container_volume 2026
container_issue 1
container_start_page 393
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 2299-0984
doi_str_mv 10.56553/popets-2026-0020
publisher Privacy Enhancing Technologies Board
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Mathematics and Computer Science - Computer Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Mathematics and Computer Science - Computer Science
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description 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.
published_date 2026-01-01T05:31:29Z
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