Here are some of the key statistics and facts about “user agents” (browsers/devices/etc.) that access the internet — the share of traffic, types of devices, bot traffic etc. These numbers vary by region, by site, and by how “user agents” are counted (visits vs unique agents), but they give a good overview.
Key Definitions
- User Agent (UA): That’s the string that a browser or other client (bot, mobile app, etc.) sends to web servers identifying itself (browser name, OS, version, device type).
- Visits vs Unique UAs: “Visits” counts how many hits/requests come from a UA; “unique UAs” counts distinct user-agent strings. So one UA that sends many requests will show high in visits but still only one in unique UAs.
- Non‑human traffic / Bots: Web crawlers, spiders, automated systems, etc., which often identify with specific UA strings.
Major Trends & Statistics
These are some percentages and breakdowns based on recent data:
Device / Traffic Type Breakdown
From DeviceAtlas, Mobiforge, etc.:
- Roughly 61% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. (DeviceAtlas)
- Desktop traffic is much smaller (~ 9–10%) in some datasets. (DeviceAtlas)
- A substantial portion (~ 28–29%) of traffic is non-human / bot traffic. (DeviceAtlas)
- The remaining small percentages are “application” traffic, garbage UAs, or unknown. (DeviceAtlas)
Browser / User Agent Vendor Share
From monthly/annual authentication statistics (ZenLogin) and browser usage tracking:
- Chrome is the dominant browser/user‑agent vendor. In 2023, ~ 80.9% of traffic (or authentication requests) came from Chrome UAs. (GitHub)
- Safari is the second most common. In the same datasets, its share is around 7–15%, depending on the region/time. (GitHub)
- Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Samsung Browser, Opera etc. follow with smaller shares. For example, Edge around 3‑11%, Firefox ~ 4‑5% in many datasets. (GitHub)
Device OS & Browser on Mobile
- Among mobile devices, most web traffic is via smartphones vs tablets. For example in the mobile device category, phones account for ~ 79%, tablets ~ 18.5%, remainder generic/media players. (DeviceAtlas)
- On mobile, iOS vs Android split varies depending on region. In some specific user groups, iOS is more common; globally Android tends to have a larger install base, but UA-based traffic may be skewed. (USENIX)
Mobile vs Desktop Traffic
- Globally, mobile traffic now accounts for around 60‑65% of total web traffic. (DeviceAtlas)
- In the U.S., the split is more balanced: in some reports, mobile ~ 56‑57%, desktop ~ 43‑44%. (Digital Silk)
Interesting Facts & Implications
- Even though desktops are fewer in visits compared to mobile, desktop UAs tend to be less diverse — there are far fewer distinct desktop browsers/devices compared to mobile. (DeviceAtlas)
- A small number of user‑agent strings (especially bots like Googlebot, etc.) generate a disproportionately large amount of non‑human traffic. (DeviceAtlas)
- Because many browsers on mobile have numerous version/OS combinations, the diversity of mobile UAs is very high. (DeviceAtlas)
