Frequently Asked Questions

  • What methodology is used to calculate Statcounter Global Stats?

    Statcounter is a web analytics service. Our tracking code is installed on more than 1.5 million sites globally. These sites cover various activities and geographic locations. Every month, we record billions of page views to these sites. For each page view, we analyse the browser/operating system/screen resolution used and we establish if the page view is from a mobile device. For our search engine stats, we analyze every page view referred by a search engine. For our social media stats, we analyze every page view referred by a social media site. We summarize all this data to get our Global Stats information.

    We provide independent, unbiased stats on internet usage trends. We do not collate our stats with any other information sources. No artificial weightings are used. We remove bot activity and make a small adjustment to our browser stats for prerendering in Google Chrome. Aside from those adjustments, we publish the data as we record it.

    In other words we calculate our Global Stats on the basis of more than 5 billion page views per month, by people from all over the world onto our 1.5 million+ member sites.

    By collating our data in this way, we track the activity of third party visitors to our member websites. We do not calculate our stats based on the activity of our members alone. This helps to minimise bias in the data and achieve a random sample.

    In July 2022, our global sample consisted of 5.3 billion page views (US: 1 billion); 885 million of these were search engine referrals (US: 142 million); 177 million of these were social media referrals (US: 58 million).

  • What are search engine referrals?

    Our search engine stats are based on what we call search engine referrals, not the number of searches performed.

    This is how a search engine referral is tracked by us.

    - A person opens a search engine in their web browser or clicks/taps into a browser search box.

    - They enter their search and look at the search engine results page.

    - They click/tap on a website from the search engine results page and load the desired website.

    If that website has the statcounter code installed, that search will be tracked as a search engine referral by us.

    If that website does not have the statcounter code installed then no search engine referral will be tracked by us.

    If that person never clicks on any website result then no search engine referral will be tracked by us.

    If that person clicks/taps on multiple websites from the search engine results page, each website that has the statcounter code installed and is loaded will be tracked as another search engine referral by us.

  • Is bing chat included in search engine share?

    We have no way of measuring the number of queries performed in bing chat. However, we also don't measure the number of queries to regular search engines like bing or google either. Instead we track search engine referrals.

    i.e. If you go to a search engine and do a search for anything and you click on a website result, we'll record that click as a search engine referral if that website had the statcounter code installed. It's the click to a website that we measure, not the actual search queries that were performed.

    When you do a search using bing chat, and you click on one of the "learn more" websites we can track that as a search referral. So we are monitoring bing chat in the same way we measure the regular bing search engine.

    From this data we can see from the statcounter network of webites, that the amount of traffic being sent to websites from bing chat is very, very small. Less than 1/100 of 1 percent.

    So from our data we can say that bing chat is not currently translating into enough clicks to our network of websites to change the search share.

    Of course you are less likely to click on a source website from bing chat than a regular search, as it is intended to give you the answer rather than have you go visiting websites to find the answer. So that needs to be factored in when using our stats for your analysis.

  • Are laptops included in the desktop platform?

    Yes. Laptops and desktop machines are included in the desktop platform together. We use the browser useragent to determine the platform and there is not enough information contained in the useragent to distinguish between laptops and desktops. That is why we do not have a separate laptop platform.

  • Can I use Statcounter Global Stats data for my blog/website/paper/project/book?

    Please do! At Statcounter Global Stats we license our work under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. This means that you are welcome to use any information provided by Statcounter Global Stats, but please ensure to credit us (with a link) anywhere you use our stats/data/graphs.

  • What statistics are provided by Statcounter Global Stats?

    We publish stats for the following:

    • Browser
    • Browser Version
    • Browser Version (Partially Combined)
    • Mobile Browser
    • Operating System
    • Mobile OS
    • Search Engine
    • Mobile Search
    • Mobile vs. Desktop
    • Screen Resolution
    • Mobile Screen Resolution
    • Social Media
    • Device Vendor (Beta)

  • Why are the figures different on the line and bar graphs?

    Line and bar graphs measure different things and SHOULD therefore differ. Both types of graph offer equally correct/robust information.

    A bar graph is discrete and shows total figures. A line graph is continuous and shows trends over time. The different types of graphs are appropriate in different situations. Comparing ONE randomly selected reading from the line graph (where multiple readings are available) with the single corresponding figure from the bar graph is not a correct or appropriate comparison.

    Trend graphs show multiple entries over time whereas bar graphs show totals. These are standard, universally accepted conventions.

  • I have a question about my Statcounter account.

    Please note that this is the Statcounter Global Stats website. We deal with enquiries in relation to Global Stats only and cannot assist with general Statcounter enquiries.

    If you have a general query about Statcounter or your Statcounter account, then you should visit the Help Section of Statcounter where the team on the Support Desk will be happy to help you. Please make sure to submit a full and detailed query to ensure a prompt response.

  • How often are Statcounter Global Stats updated?

    Stats are updated and made available at around 13:00 GMT for the previous day. Please note, however, that our stats are subject to quality assurance testing and revision for 45 days from first publication.

  • What do you mean by stats are "subject to quality assurance testing and revision for 45 days from publication"?

    Although we make every effort to ensure that all stats are accurate and comprehensive on publication, we reserve the right to correct the stats in respect of any errors/omissions. After the expiration of a 45 day period from first publication, no changes will be made to the data.

  • How do I get updates about Statcounter Global Stats?

    You can keep up-to-date with Statcounter Global Stats in the following ways:

    1. Subscribe to our Global Stats News Feed Global Stats News Feed
    2. Follow Global Stats on Twitter
    3. Or you can visit this page and enter your email address in the bottom left corner to receive email updates
  • What is the Statcounter Global Stats sample size per country/region?

    In July 2022, our global sample consisted of over 5.3 billion page views. The ten countries with the largest individual sample sizes are listed below:

    • 1 billion - United States
    • 613 million - India
    • 432 million - Turkey
    • 224 million - United Kingdom
    • 213 million - China
    • 171 million - Taiwan
    • 150 million - Indonesia
    • 114 million - Germany
    • 112 million - Canada
    • 109 million - Poland

    A full list of sample sizes per country is available here.

    In July 2022, our global sample for mobile devices consisted of over 3.2 billion page views. The ten countries with the largest individual sample sizes are listed below:

    • 565 million - United States
    • 451 million - India
    • 370 million - Turkey
    • 151 million - China
    • 104 million - United Kingdom
    • 101 million - Indonesia
    • 78 million - Taiwan
    • 70 million - Poland
    • 58 million - Germany
    • 52 million - Vietnam

    A full list of sample sizes per country for mobile devices is available here.

  • Do you calculate Statcounter Global Stats based solely on page views to the Statcounter homepage?

    No. Statcounter Global Stats are based on over 5 billion page views per month, by a random sample of people worldwide, to over 1.5 million global websites, covering multiple interest areas and geographic locations.

  • Do you use a toolbar to collect your data?

    No, Statcounter does not use any kind of toolbar to collect data. To find out more about our methodology, please visit this link.

  • Are your Global Stats based only on the activity of your members?

    No. Our Global Stats track the activity of third parties on our member websites. This helps to minimizes bias in our data and achieve a random sample.

  • Statcounter members are largely "technical"; does this influence Statcounter Global Stats?

    We do NOT base our Global Stats solely on the activity of our members. Our Global Stats are based on the unknown persons who randomly visit our member websites.

  • How do your stats compare to other similar services?

    We understand that there are several other sources for market share data similar to Statcounter Global Stats. All services differ. For example:

    • Some services base stats on sales/downloads - we don't - we measure internet usage.
    • Some services collect data via opt-in toolbars - we don't - our stats are based on the anonymous third parties who visit our member websites.
    • Our stats are based on over 5 billion page views per month to over 1.5 million global websites - we are not aware of any other publicly available service providing market share stats that has a bigger sample size on which they base their information.
    • We base our stats on page views (and not unique visitors)- we feel that this gives the fairest approximation of internet usage.
    • All our stats are available free of charge (many others charge for the data).
    • We don't apply artificial weights to our data (but our users can do so if they wish).

    Other service providers publish their stats, we publish ours and people can choose which service or combination of services suits their needs - there's plenty of room for all of us. If you have any specific questions regarding comparing Statcounter Global Stats with another service, please just let us know and we'll do our best to provide you with fair and accurate information.

  • Why are your numbers different to Net Applications?

    There are a number of differences between Statcounter Global Stats and Net Apps. These include:

    • Sample Size
      Statcounter Global Stats are based on a pool of 1.5 million+ global websites. Net Apps state that their stats are currently based on over 40,000 websites. ("We collect data from the browsers of site visitors to our exclusive on-demand network of ... over 40,000 websites")
    • Page Views Tracked
      We track over 5 billion page views per month across our network of member sites. Nets Apps do not publish the number of page views they track.
    • Page Views versus Uniques
      Net Apps base their stats on unique visitors per site per day. ("We 'count' unique visitors to our network sites, and only count one unique visit to each network site per day.") We base our stats on page views - here's why.
    • Weighted Data
      Net Apps apply weighting factors to their data in respect of their worldwide stats. ("The Net Market Share data is weighted by country.") We don't and here's why. Please note that if country weighting is used, it should only be applied to worldwide, continental or similar data where stats for several countries are grouped together. Weighting factors are not relevant for individual country stats.
    • Free versus Paid
      Currently all Statcounter Global Stats data and graphs are available free of charge. Net Apps provide some information for free but require paid upgrades to access regional and other data.
    • Publication of Sample Sizes
      We publish our individual country sample sizes here. Net Apps do not appear to provide this information. We encourage them to do so to allow a clear comparison of our services.
    • Javascript versus Non-Javascript
      To the best of our knowledge, Net Apps only tracks javascript enabled browsers. We track both javascript and non-javascript browsers. This is particularly important in the mobile space.
    • Browser stats - IE Bundled with other browsers
      Net Apps state that they bundle IE with other unrelated browsers. ("Internet Explorer usage share includes third party browsers such as Maxthon and Lunascape with Trident rendering engine") We don't. We separately track and report IE, Maxthon and Lunascape.
    • Browser stats - Prerendering
      In Feb 2012, Net Apps introduced an adjustment to their stats to take account of prerendering behavior in the Chrome browser. We introduced an adjustment for prerendering on 01 May 2012 - read more here.

    Please note that we are not connected with Net Apps but due to many recent queries about the comparison of our services, we have published this FAQ. Please also bear in mind that we have never used Net Apps stats and we don't have access to their paid services however, for the purposes of this entry, we've reviewed their FAQs and we've also picked up some information from our users and from online articles. In the interests of fairness and balance, we suggest you confirm all the above with Net Apps directly (and please do let us know if we need to update this FAQ!).

    No stats service (even our own!) is perfect and it's up to users to decide which service suits their needs. That's why we try to make our service/methodology/stats as transparent as we can. If you have any information to update/correct/expand the above FAQ, please do let us know ASAP.

  • Why do you not weight your data?

    We do not impose artificial weightings on our stats - this is a conscious and deliberate decision. Weighting stats means that the stats are only as good as the weighting methodology used. If the weighting data is inaccurate or out of date, then it renders the data completely incorrect. Further, applying a weighting factor to inaccurate data does not turn it into meaningful information - no matter what weighting factors are applied, the geographical spread of the initial stats is very important. For these reasons, we choose not to weight our data.

    We would also have a significant difficulty in choosing and applying any system of weights to our data. For example, how would we handle changes in the weights? Would we rerun and restate all our prior stats? Would we apply a smoothing factor? How often would we update the weights?

    By publishing our data without any adjustment for country weighting, we allow our users to re-run the numbers using any weighting system they wish. No weighting system is imposed on them and they are free to take our data and weight it however they wish or not at all. The decision is theirs. All our work is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License to facilitate our users with this.

    Important!

    Please note that if country weighting is used, it should only be applied to worldwide, continental or similar data where stats for several countries are aggregated. Weighting factors are not relevant for individual country stats.

  • You don't weight your data using the CIA Internet Users data - why not?

    We do not weight any of our data. Our users are, of course, welcome to apply weights to the data (or not at all) if they wish. Weighting is not relevant for individual country stats. Read more about our decision not to weight our stats here.

    With specific reference to the CIA Internet Users data, some of the difficulties include:

    • The data is collected at different times and may be out of date. For example, in March 2012, the CIA data per country is based on figures from 2001, 2008 and 2009 for different countries.
    • The data is vague and inconsistent - "This entry gives the number of users within a country that access the Internet. Statistics vary from country to country and may include users who access the Internet at least several times a week to those who access it only once within a period of several months." In other words, users who access the internet several times per day are given equal weight as those who only visit an internet café once per month - this seems to be inherently problematic.
    • No distinction is made between mobile and non-mobile users. It would not, therefore, be correct to weight browser stats using the CIA data. In China, for example, some estimates put mobile internet usage as high as 66%. Weighting browser stats without adjusting for potentially significant Chinese mobile internet usage would incorrectly inflate the stats for desktop browsers. This could significantly overstate the stats for desktop browsers which are popular in China. Similar problems would be encountered in other countries with high mobile internet usage.
  • Why do you base your stats on page views rather than unique visitors?

    We measure internet usage trends. To accurately measure usage, we have to base our stats on page views (and not unique visitors). Let's look at an example:

    Person X uses two browsers. On a particular day, they load one page in Browser A. They load 500 pages in Browser B.

    If we based our stats on unique visitors then usage of Browser A and B would both be recorded as 50%. This is obviously incorrect. This does not fairly represent the usage of the browsers given that Browser B was used 500 times more than browser A.

    Using page views as the basis of our stats means that Browser A will be recorded at less than 1% in our stats whereas Browser B will be recorded at over 99%. In our view, this gives a more accurate representation of actual browser usage.

    We made the following video to help explain the situation.

    Furthermore, there are many limitations, difficulties and uncertainties with regard to unique visitors.

    Do you define a unique visitor based on cookies? How do you handle browsers which don't allow cookies? In this case, each page view is counted as a unique. Or do you use IP address? How do you handle dynamic IPs (such as AOL) where the IP changes with every page view? In this case, each page view is again counted as a unique.

    There are also difficulties with deciding how often/when to include the stats for a particular unique visitor.

    What is the return period for a unique visitor? Do you reset the counters after 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours? Do you count each time a unique visitor visits any site in your network? Or do you only count one unique visit to any site in the network per day? What if the same person uses multiple browsers?

    Due to the above uncertainties, no service can provide stats based solely on unique visitors. Instead, the stats will be based on a mixture of page views and uniques. We made a conscious decision not to introduce that inconsistency into our figures hence our use of page views as the basis of our stats.

  • Are your stats based on javascript enabled browsers only?

    No. We track both javascript and non-javascript enabled browsers - this is critical in the mobile space but less so in relation to the desktop market.

  • The stats for my site are completely different to Statcounter Global Stats - why?

    There are two difficulties with trying to use the stats for a single website to calculate market share information:

    1. The sample size is generally very small i.e. only the visitors to that one website
    2. The user stats for a single website can be skewed due to the type of person who visits that site. For example, all visitors may be in a certain age group or may have a particular interest area. This can influence the use or otherwise of a mobile device and also influence the browser/operating system/search engine/social media site used.

    The Statcounter Global Stats analysis is based on over 5 billion page views per month, by a random sample of people worldwide, to more than 1.5 million global websites, covering multiple interest areas and geographic locations.

  • I have noticed a problem/discontinuity in the Global Stats data.

    At Statcounter we track over 5 billion page views per month on the Statcounter network of more than 1.5 million websites. We publish a summary of the activity that we track via Statcounter Global Stats.

    In the case of some countries/regions (e.g. Antarctica) the sample size of page views may not be sufficiently large to be statistically robust. In this case, it is possible that there may be some bias in the data and the graphs may become skewed by a small number of users.

    If you remain concerned, please contact us and we will investigate and respond as soon as possible.

  • Is there a way to check if the Statcounter Global Stats detection is correct?

    Absolutely. Our detect tool can be used to confirm that our useragent detection is accurate. If you identify any problems, please let us know ASAP.

  • How accurate are Statcounter Global Stats?

    This is a difficult question to answer - to be honest, we recommend you consider our methodology in order to make your own decision regarding how accurate our stats are for your purpose. Here is some information to review:

    • In terms of sample size, Statcounter Global Stats are based on an analysis of more than 5 billion page views on more than 1.5 million websites per month. We are not aware of any other publicly available service providing market share stats that has a bigger sample size on which they base their information.
    • We also have a wide global spread of stats and we make our individual country sample sizes publicly available.
    • Many other providers use an artificial weighting system for their stats - obviously, this can have a significant impact on their numbers and any change in the weighting system can have a corresponding impact on the numbers they report. We don't use any artificial weights - instead our users can apply their chosen weights if they wish.
    • From time to time, changes or revisions to our stats may be necessary. We reserve a 45 day window to revise stats. Outside of this, no stats will be restated. Where any revision or significant change is made to our stats, we flag this by way of a note on our graphs.

    Please contact us if you have any further questions.

  • Do bots influence your stats?

    We make every effort to eliminate bot activity. We identify bots and prevent them from being recorded in our stats. We also monitor multiple key metrics in order to identify any potential problems with our data. We maintain communications with many of the main technology providers and we reserve a 45 day window to revise stats if/when necessary. In the event of a change or revision being required we flag this on our graphs by way of a note.

  • How did Statcounter Global Stats come about?

    Statcounter Global Stats came about because we decided to publicly share interesting trends that we were monitoring in-house. We literally had a light bulb moment one day when we realised that other people might be interested in these Global Stats too... so we made an interface and published all the stats for free.

    Our methodology is very simple and we've purposefully kept it that way - we try to make our Global stats as clear and transparent as possible and we appreciate all user queries, comments and suggestions. If you have any questions for us, please don't hesitate to contact us via our feedback form.

  • BROWSERS: What browsers do you track?

    To see the list of browsers currently tracked, please select the "Browser" statistic and choose the "Bar" graph option. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all browsers currently tracked.

  • BROWSERS: What browser versions do you track?

    To see the list of browser versions currently tracked, please select the "Browser Version" statistic and choose the "Bar" graph option. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all browser versions currently tracked.

  • BROWSERS: What does "Browser Version (Partially Combined)" mean?

    This statistic groups together browser versions which are on a "Rapid Release" cycle, whereby the browser gets updated from one version to the next automatically without the user taking any action.

    Browsers which use this versioning model include all versions of Google Chrome, as well as versions of Firefox 5+ and Opera 15+

  • BROWSERS: Why don't you display X browser version on the Statcounter Global Stats graphs?

    Please note that the significance of a browser is heavily dependent on the time period being examined. For example, Firefox 3.5 (released 30 June 2009) will not appear on a graph of browser versions for January 2009, but may appear separately on a graph for July 2009.

    The Statcounter Global Stats graphs adjust to display the most popular browsers for the particular period under analysis. So a browser will be included in the OTHER category if its use is not significant enough to warrant its inclusion as a separate line item FOR THE GIVEN TIME PERIOD.

    To find out how to download a full list of all browser versions currently tracked, please visit this link.

  • BROWSERS: Is it possible for you to show the top ranked browsers? Several new versions are being grouped in "other".

    Please note that the significance of a browser is heavily dependent on the time period being examined. For example, Firefox 3.5 (released 30 June 2009) will not appear on a graph of browser versions for January 2009, but may appear separately on a graph for July 2009.

    The Statcounter Global Stats graphs adjust to display the most popular browsers for the particular period under analysis. So a browser will be included in the OTHER category if its use is not significant enough to warrant its inclusion as a separate line item FOR THE GIVEN TIME PERIOD.

    To find out how to download a full list of all Browser Versions currently tracked, please visit this link.

  • BROWSERS: Can I suggest a new browser Statcounter Global Stats should track?

    We are always happy to improve our browser detection; to do this do this we need FULL DETAILS of the user agent string.

    However, before sending us any details, please review the current list of all browsers tracked. If your suggested browser does NOT appear in the list, then please send us the user agent information so that we can update our detection.

  • BROWSERS: Do you adjust your browser stats for prerendering/pre-loading?

    Three browsers are affected by preview-type requests - Chrome, Safari and Opera.

    Chrome

    Further to a significant number of user requests, we are now adjusting our browser stats to remove the effect of prerendering in Google Chrome. From 1 May 2012, prerendered pages (which are not actually viewed) are not included in our stats.

    Some points to note:

    • Prerendering was announced by Chrome in June 2011. This change did not have any significant impact on our stats.
    • Chrome is currently allowing the detection of prerendering behavior via its Page Visibility API.
    • Google specifically states:
      "Important: This is an experimental API and may change-or even be removed-in the future, especially as the Page Visibility API standard, which is an early draft, evolves."
      This means that in the future it may not be possible to track/remove the effect of prerendering on Chrome.
    • If other browsers adopt prerendering then it may not be possible to track/remove the effect of prerendering on those browsers. In that case, the fairest solution would be to include all page views (prerendered or not) for all browsers rather than only excluding prerendering in Chrome. That scenario would require us to revisit this methodology change in the future.
    • We publish a graph showing total prerendered page views tracked in Chrome, together with the portion of prerendered pages which are not actually viewed by the end user. The prerendered pages (which are not actually viewed) are removed from our stats. For May 2012, the percentage of prerendered pages (not viewed) in Chrome is approximately 1.3%. Note that this change has not had any significant impact on our browser stats. This is due to our use of page views to track browser usage - page views are less susceptible to influence by prerendering than unique visitors.

    Safari & Opera

    The "Top Sites" feature in Safari and the "Speed dial" feature in Opera's desktop browser show preview thumbnails of frequently visited or bookmarked sites. These preview thumbnails are refreshed by the respective browsers periodically. Unfortunately, it is not possible to exclude these previews from being tracked. To get a bit technical, this is because the "X-Purpose: preview" header is only sent with the request for the base page. The header is not sent as part of requests for images, CSS or JavaScript that have to be downloaded and executed as part of the preview. With online web analytics (as provided by Statcounter) the relevant header information is not passed so these preview requests can't be detected and therefore can't be removed. Ideally Safari and Opera will change this to ensure to send the "X-Purpose: preview" header with all "Top Sites" and "Speed Dial" HTTP requests, however this is not the case at present.

  • BROWSERS: Do you bundle IE with other browsers in your stats?

    Certainly not! We track IE, Maxthon and Lunascape separately - while they may use the same rendering engine these are separate and independent browsers. Bundling these third party browsers with IE would simply incorrectly inflate the IE stats.

  • OS: What operating systems do you track?

    To see the list of operating systems currently tracked, please select the "Operating System" statistic and choose the "Bar" graph option. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all browsers currently tracked.

  • SEARCH: What search engines do you track?

    To see the list of search engines currently tracked, please select the "Search Engine" statistic and choose the "Bar" graph option. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all search engines currently tracked.

    We are always happy to improve our detection particularly in relation to local/regional search engines; if you would like to suggest a search engine for us to add to our detection, then please contact us and provide a sample referring URL.

  • MOBILE: How do you define a mobile device?

    We define a mobile device as a pocket-sized computing device, typically having a display screen with touch input or a miniature keyboard.

  • MOBILE: How do you track mobile devices?

    We track over 5 billion page views per month across the Statcounter network of over 1.5 million websites. We analyze every page view in order to gather as much information as possible. With each page view a useragent string is sent which allows us to determine the the browser and operating system used and also to establish if the page view came from a mobile device. In this way we determine the usage of mobile devices, browsers and operating systems.

  • We track over 5 billion page views per month across the Statcounter network of over 1.5 million websites. We analyze every page view in order to gather as much information as possible. With each page view a useragent string is sent which allows us to determine the the browser and operating system used and also to establish if the page view came from a mobile device. In addition, we examine the referring string information to establish the search engine used (if any). In this way we determine the popularity of the various search engines on mobile devices.

  • MOBILE: What mobile browsers do you track?

    To see the list of mobile browsers currently tracked, please select the "Mobile Browser" statistic and choose the "Bar" graph option. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all mobile browsers currently tracked.

  • MOBILE: What mobile search engines do you track?

    To see the list of mobile search engines currently tracked, please select the "Mobile Search" statistic and choose the "Bar" graph option. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all mobile search engines currently tracked.

  • MOBILE: What mobile operating systems do you track?

    To see the list of mobile operating systems currently tracked, please select the "Mobile OS" statistic and choose the "Bar" graph option. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all mobile operating systems currently tracked.

  • MOBILE: Why did Symbian experience a significant fall in April 2012?

    In April 2012, we performed a Nokia OS detection update. Prior to this, Nokia devices (including some S40 devices) had been grouped largely under Symbian OS. With assistance from Nokia and a number of individual users, this error was corrected on 23rd April 2012 and from that date all Nokia devices are now tracked as Symbian or S40 or Meego as appropriate. When all mobile operating systems are combined, Nokia currently remains the leading Mobile Device Vendor.

    We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this oversight and encourage all our users to use this tool to check and/or suggest amendments to our detection. Many thanks to all who assisted us with this matter. As always, we welcome your feedback, so please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments.

  • TABLET: How do you define a tablet?

    We define a tablet as a portable computing device, larger than a mobile device, with a touchscreen interface.

    Specifically, the following devices are detected as tablets and account for at least 0.01% of tablet usage share (Dec 2013):

    Apple iPad
    Samsung Galaxy Tab
    Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
    Google Nexus 7
    Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1
    Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7"
    Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
    RIM BlackBerry PlayBook
    Microsoft Surface RT
    Amazon Kindle
    Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 Wi-Fi
    Asus Transformer Pad TF300T
    Acer Iconia Tab A500
    Asus Transformer TF101
    woPad A10
    Google Nexus 10
    Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7
    Sony Tablet S
    Barnes & Noble Nook BNTV250
    Toshiba AT100
    Acer Iconia Tab A200
    Motorola Xoom
    Lenovo IdeaTab A2107
    HP TouchPad
    Barnes & Noble NOOK BNRV200
    Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF201
    Motorola MZ601
    Motorola MZ604
    Acer Iconia Tab A100
    Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 WAN
    HTC Flyer
    ViewSonic ViewPad
    Acer Iconia Tab A501
    Amazon Kindle 3.0
    Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0
    Coolpad Unknown
    Lenovo IdeaTab A1-07
    Vodafone Unknown
    ZTE Unknown
    Motorola MZ605
    Pandigital SuperNova
    Archos 80 G9

  • SOCIAL MEDIA: What social media sites do you track?

    Some of the Social Media sites we track include: Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Twitter, reddit, Digg, MySpace, NowPublic, iWiW, orkut, Fark, Delicious, VKontakte, Hi5, Yahoo! Buzz, Vimeo, Mixx, FriendFeed, Hyves, Bebo, Tuenti, Kaboodle, Odnoklassniki...

    Note that only the Top 7 Social Media sites appear on our graphs.

    To see a list of the social media sites we track, please select the "Social Media" statistic, choose the "Bar" graph option and select your chosen time period. Next click "Download Data" - the downloaded file will list all social media sites tracked in the specified time period.

    We are always happy to improve our detection particularly in relation to local/regional social media sites; if you would like to suggest a social media site for us to add to our detection, then please contact us and provide the relevant URL.

  • SOCIAL MEDIA: How do you calculate the social media stats?

    We rank social media sites according to their traffic generation capabilities i.e. the amount of traffic they refer to other websites. We do NOT rank social media sites according to the amount of traffic they receive. To find out more about our methodology, please visit this link.

  • SOCIAL MEDIA: How do you calculate stats for twitter?

    We rank social media sites according to their traffic generation capabilities i.e. the amount of traffic they refer to other websites.

    Before 24 August 2011, Twitter referrals in Statcounter Global Stats are understated. This is because many third party twitter clients do not provide referral information. Referral stats were largely based, therefore, on referrals from twitter.com; referrals from many mobile/desktop twitter clients being unavailable.

    While Twitter had been testing its automatic link shortening service for some time, the new t.co feature was rolled out on a wide scale in August 2011. You can learn more about the t.co URL shortener here.

    The use of this automatic link shortening now allows more accurate analysis of twitter referrals. In other words, referring links which were previously unavailable due to the use of third party twitter clients can now be successfully tracked.

    From 24 August, we have updated our detection and now include t.co links for twitter. In many regions this resulted in a significant jump for twitter on our Social Media stats graphs.

    It should be noted that it is possible for t.co links to be copied from twitter and pasted on to a blog or other website. In such a case, a t.co referral would be included as a twitter referral within our Global Stats despite the referral having come from a different website. This scenario indicates that Twitter referrals may now be slightly overstated, however, we expect such overstatement to be small.

  • DIGG VS REDDIT: What does this stat mean?

    In August 2010, Digg launched Version 4 of its platform and caused a revolt among its users.

    In protest, it appeared that many users began to migrate to rival site Reddit... and this was borne out by a special analysis conducted by us at Statcounter Global stats. Due to significant interest in their relevant performances, we published a special stat "Digg vs Reddit" which analyzes the traffic generation capabilities of Digg and Reddit only - no other social media sites are included.

    NOTE: As this stat is a comparison of Digg and Reddit only, any line graph generated using these stats must sum to 100% at each point (i.e. the trend lines will be mirror images of each other).

    Please see our "Social Media" stat for information on the performance of the other main social media sites.

  • Can I view information for each country?

    To view a monthly spreadsheet containing a percentage breakdown of Browser, Mobile Browser, Browser Version, Mobile Vs Desktop, OS or Mobile OS usage for each Country, go to the appropriate link:

    Browser:
    https://gs.statcounter.com/download/browser-country/

    Browser Version:
    https://gs.statcounter.com/download/browserversion-country/

    Mobile Vs Desktop:
    https://gs.statcounter.com/download/mobilevsdesktop-country/

    Mobile Vs Desktop Vs Tablet Vs Console:
    https://gs.statcounter.com/download/platform-country/

    Operating System:
    https://gs.statcounter.com/download/os-country/

    Search Engine:
    https://gs.statcounter.com/download/search-country/

    Social Media:
    https://gs.statcounter.com/download/social-media-country/

    You can set YEAR and MONTH parameters to select a required month e.g. to select February 2012, go to https://gs.statcounter.com/download/browser-country/?year=2012&month=2

    If no parameters are provided, the most recent month's data will be returned by default.

    You can also set DEVICE parameters (desktop, mobile, tablet, console) to select a required device(s) e.g. to select Desktop and Mobile, go to https://gs.statcounter.com/download/browser-country/?device=desktop,mobile

    If no device parameters are provided, all device will be returned by default.

    Data is available from July 2008 onwards.

    Data for a particular month will only become available on the 2nd day of the subsequent month.

  • Do you publish rendering engine stats alongside browser versions. For example, Gecko and Presto?

    We don't currently publish rendering engine stats, however, this suggestion has been logged and is being assessed by our Development Team.

  • Would it be possible to get these statistics for a given US state, e.g. California?

    We don't currently publish statistics on a state basis, however, this suggestion has been logged and is being assessed by our Development Team.

  • Do you provide traffic volume evolution stats per continent/country/language zone/subject/keyword/niche?

    We don't currently publish traffic evolution stats, however, this suggestion has been logged and is being assessed by our Development Team.

  • Do you provide email client usage stats?

    We don't currently publish email client stats, however, this suggestion has been logged and is being assessed by our Development Team.

  • Do you provide flash/shockwave/unity/javascript tracking?

    We don't currently publish flash/shockwave/unity/javascript stats, however, this suggestion has been logged and is being assessed by our Development Team.

  • Do you publish more detailed breakdown of the mobile data e.g. device, model and/or user agent?

    We don't currently publish mobile statistics showing device/model/user agent, however, this suggestion has been logged and is being assessed by our Development Team.

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