Title: A sharp decline in browser usage Last modified: November 26, 2025 --- # A sharp decline in browser usage * [acousticradio](https://wordpress.org/support/users/acousticradio/) * (@acousticradio) * [6 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-sharp-decline-in-browser-usage/) * I’m using WP Statistics version 14.15.6 on a site launched this past June. I’ve set the browser usage statistics to display data for “This year” and have been recording the monthly trends. However, starting in October, the numbers have plummeted, falling below the previous month’s (September) figures.Below is the record table.[https://drive.google.com/file/d/17DLvj3onfXjZ0Pz_ii4tZAebS3udbvA-/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/17DLvj3onfXjZ0Pz_ii4tZAebS3udbvA-/view?usp=sharing) * Since it’s set to “This year,” the numbers should normally accumulate as months pass. What could be the possible cause? I update the plugin whenever a new version is released, but I haven’t changed any settings. The tracking method in the tracker settings is set to “Client-side tracking.” * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fa-sharp-decline-in-browser-usage%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US) to see the link]_ Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total) * [Mehmet](https://wordpress.org/support/users/gandomi/) * (@gandomi) * [6 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-sharp-decline-in-browser-usage/#post-18733245) * Hi [@acousticradio](https://wordpress.org/support/users/acousticradio/), * Thanks for sharing the details. * I took a closer look, and I suspect the issue is related to your purge settings. You can check this under: **Statistics > Settings > Advanced Options > Automatically Aggregate Old Data**. * If this option is set to something like **180 days**, WP Statistics will automatically aggregate older data to optimize your database. When aggregation happens, only visitor and visit counts are kept, and detailed data, including browser information, is removed. This would explain why the browser numbers suddenly decreased in October. * If you prefer to keep all detailed data without any automatic cleanup, you can set this option to **Never** so the plugin won’t aggregate or remove older browser stats. * Best regards, * Thread Starter [acousticradio](https://wordpress.org/support/users/acousticradio/) * (@acousticradio) * [6 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-sharp-decline-in-browser-usage/#post-18733978) * Hello, Mehmet. * Thank you very much for your response. Upon checking the section you pointed out, it was set to “Keep details for 1 year.” Since the site went live this past June, I believe the data should not have been deleted yet. Why is this happening? Also, if there is a way to restore the data from October onward, which saw a sudden drop, to its undeleted state, I would greatly appreciate your guidance. Thank you for your continued assistance. * [https://drive.google.com/file/d/16xAKS3gnHHWQJZB9-4TaavX2jU8Xz6HW/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16xAKS3gnHHWQJZB9-4TaavX2jU8Xz6HW/view?usp=sharing) * [Mehmet](https://wordpress.org/support/users/gandomi/) * (@gandomi) * [6 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-sharp-decline-in-browser-usage/#post-18735451) * Hi [@acousticradio](https://wordpress.org/support/users/acousticradio/), and thanks for your patience. * I’m very sorry for the delay in getting back to you. * Based on everything you described, the most likely cause is still that the data was aggregated for some reason, even though the setting is configured to “Keep details for 1 year.” Once aggregation happens, detailed browser information is removed and can’t be restored from inside the plugin. * There are also a few other possibilities: * • An incomplete data migration during a plugin update may have caused older detailed records to be merged or cleaned unintentionally. • Your server’s cron or optimization tools may have run a cleanup. Some hosting providers automatically optimize MySQL tables, run scheduled cron jobs, or use tools like LiteSpeed’s auto-clean. These processes sometimes remove large or detailed tables. * If the detailed browser data was removed at the server level, WP Statistics unfortunately can’t recover it. * The only realistic way to restore the lost detailed data is to revert a server- side backup. Most hosting providers keep weekly or monthly backups of your site, so your host may be able to restore the database from a point before the drop in October. * If you can reach out to your hosting provider and ask whether any automatic optimization ran in early October, or if they can restore a backup from before that date, that would be the best next step. * I’m here if you need any help checking the settings or confirming anything else. * Best regards, Mehmet * Thread Starter [acousticradio](https://wordpress.org/support/users/acousticradio/) * (@acousticradio) * [6 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-sharp-decline-in-browser-usage/#post-18735523) * Mr. Mehmet, thank you very much for your detailed response. I understand that it is not possible to restore detailed browser information from the plugin.I am displaying browser information for “This year,” but the numbers are still lower than October’s figures at this point, and it appears that values prior to today are still not accumulating.Since I have not performed any server cron jobs or cleanup using optimization tools, it may be that the data migration during the plugin updates on September 21st and November 9th was incomplete.I plan to hold off on updating the plugin for a while and monitor the situation. Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total) The topic ‘A sharp decline in browser usage’ is closed to new replies. * ![](https://ps.w.org/wp-statistics/assets/icon.svg?rev=3081064) * [WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-statistics/) * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-statistics/#faq) * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-statistics/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-statistics/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-statistics/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wp-statistics/reviews/) * 4 replies * 2 participants * Last reply from: [acousticradio](https://wordpress.org/support/users/acousticradio/) * Last activity: [6 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-sharp-decline-in-browser-usage/#post-18735523) * Status: not resolved