Title: What algorithm does WordPress use for calculating plugins’ active installs? Last modified: June 10, 2017 --- # What algorithm does WordPress use for calculating plugins’ active installs? * Resolved [HosseinRafiei](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hosseinrafiei/) * (@hosseinrafiei) * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/what-algorithm-does-wordpress-use-for-calculating-plugins-active-installs/) * Hi, * I’m a WordPress developer and I want to know which algorithm does WordPress use for calculating active installs of plugins that shows on the plugin stats on WordPress repository. * WordPress shows 3000+ active install for my solid and satisfied plugin with more than 120 five stars reviews (4.8 as average) but shows 5000+ active installs for another simple and buggy plugin that have less than 10 reviews (3.6 as average). * How is it possible?! Also based on my stats, my plugin active installs should be more than 7K. * Can someone please explain about it? Look forward to hear back from you soon. * Regards, Hossein Rafiei - This topic was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by [HosseinRafiei](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hosseinrafiei/). Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total) * Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/) * (@macmanx) * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/what-algorithm-does-wordpress-use-for-calculating-plugins-active-installs/#post-9215039) * Here are the details on that: [https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-active-installs-how-is-it-calculated/#post-9077588](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-active-installs-how-is-it-calculated/#post-9077588) * Moderator [Jan Dembowski](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jdembowski/) * (@jdembowski) * Forum Moderator and Brute Squad * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/what-algorithm-does-wordpress-use-for-calculating-plugins-active-installs/#post-9215380) * Side note: [@hosseinrafiei](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hosseinrafiei/) I’ve moved this topic to Everything else WordPress as this is not a developing topic. * Thread Starter [HosseinRafiei](https://wordpress.org/support/users/hosseinrafiei/) * (@hosseinrafiei) * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/what-algorithm-does-wordpress-use-for-calculating-plugins-active-installs/#post-9218733) * Hi, * Thanks for your feedback [@macmanx](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/) * I think you should rethink about the algorithm. It’s not accurate. You said that it’s counting the update requests that are received to WordPress server within last 12 hours. * This is not good. My plugin is installed on thousand of websites that may don’t have any visitor in last 12 hours. I suggest you to consider a longer time period. For example 3 months. As I said based on my own stats my plugin’s active installs should be more than 7K but in the WordPress, users are seeing 3000+! * Also what about those plugins that don’t use WordPress Repositories for the update and use their own servers for providing update packages? * Additionally, I want to ask you to don’t round the number on thousands. It will be very better if you round it based on hundreds. For example showing 3100+ or 3900+ will be very better. * Thanks for your consideration. * Regards, Hossein Rafiei * Moderator [James Huff](https://wordpress.org/support/users/macmanx/) * (@macmanx) * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/what-algorithm-does-wordpress-use-for-calculating-plugins-active-installs/#post-9219130) * I’ll leave the rest to [@otto42](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/) if he wishes to share some thoughts on that, but I can definitely answer this one: * > Also what about those plugins that don’t use WordPress Repositories for the > update and use their own servers for providing update packages? * Being in the repository is a requirement of being in the directory at [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) * So, with regards to how active installs are counted in the directory, plugins hosted elsewhere are irrelevant. * Moderator [Samuel Wood (Otto)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/) * (@otto42) * WordPress.org Admin * [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/what-algorithm-does-wordpress-use-for-calculating-plugins-active-installs/#post-9227439) * > You said that it’s counting the update requests that are received to WordPress > server within last 12 hours. * You misunderstand. WordPress has a schedule to perform update checks every 12 hours, but as you know, some sites may not receive hits in that time. * We’re not looking only at “the last 12 hours”, because as you point out, that’s silly. We remember what sites contacted us and when and we expire “old sites” in a much more reasonable timeframe. * But no, I’m not going to tell you what that timeframe is. People do attempt to“ game” our systems, and that information is simply a bit too much secret sauce to give out. Nevertheless, we do retain information for a time and we’re not being silly about the number there. We believe it to be accurate, or at least, consistent across the directory. Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total) The topic ‘What algorithm does WordPress use for calculating plugins’ active installs?’ is closed to new replies. ## Tags * [active installs](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/active-installs/) * [wordpress repository](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/wordpress-repository/) * In: [Everything else WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/miscellaneous/) * 5 replies * 4 participants * Last reply from: [Samuel Wood (Otto)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/otto42/) * Last activity: [8 years, 11 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/what-algorithm-does-wordpress-use-for-calculating-plugins-active-installs/#post-9227439) * Status: resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics