A count of downloads for software is considered an indication of the number of users of that software. However, this is horribly misleading. Some sites intentionally misrepresent the number of downloads to make it appear that their softeare is more popular than it actually is. But even Christian software sites which list actual download counts are unintentionally misleading. Let's say that an app has been available for 20 years and has 100,000 downloads. That has nothing to do with the number of users. Assuming two releases per year, each user would download updates 39 times plus the initial download. This means that 100,000 downloads represents only 2,500 users. Then one has to consider that with users with multiple computers (say a phone and a laptop), computer replacements, hardware updates, downloads that didn't complete or were corrupted, additional downloads are required per user. In addition, not every download is used beyond an initial evalutation (or at all). It is not unreasonable to assume that 100,000 downloads represents about 1,250 actual users, or less. It is even possible that site errors might result in miscounting downloads, perhaps reflecting the access of web crawlers. In summary, correlating downloads and users is problematic and misleading. Understanding this, some sites don't even bother showing download counts. Some might indicate the number of users currently using their app (assuming the app requires an internet connection), but that can only indicate the number of users right then - not the total installed base.

The erasmus Bible app site attempts to mitigate these issues to provide a download count that is closer to an actual user count. We still cannot compensate for people downloading and then not using the app, or having to re-download and install when a computer/phone is replaced (which is why we still call it a "download" count instead of a "user" count). But we have been able to address some concerns. For example, all updates that are downloaded through the app are not included in the download count. We've also ensured that the download counter code works correctly. As a consequence, we daresay that our download count is much closer to the actual number of users than most other online download counts.

One might wonder why this matters at all. There are a couple reasons. As mentioned, one is to indicate popularity - which appeals to some. Another reason is that it is important to those who produce software to understand how many users they have. The can be used to forecast future server upgrades as well as when when user numbers justify various online services. For electronic publishers, this can affect the ability of the company to obtain licenses for material. Commercial apps can count sales, but free apps don't have that advantage. Some free software may require registration to get a better handle on the actual user count.

We continue to refine our process for determining the number of actual users of the erasmus Bible app. The download count represents our best estimate of users at this time - not the raw download count. Our goal is to be as honest, as accurate, and as transparent as possible. If it seems important to compare our download count with that of others, you would probably be closer by dividing the other download count by 10 or 20 - with the understanding that any such comparison is very rough and inherently problematic.

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