Who Just Signed Up Screensaver
The Who Just Signed Up screensaver shows new registered accounts on a Wikipedia edition each month, key-less. It is the recruitment number for the largest volunteer project in history — and almost none of these accounts become editors. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
Live preview
Press ESC to leave fullscreen. Settings are saved in your browser only.
How the Who Just Signed Up screensaver works
The saver reads the source described above and draws it on a canvas — no account, no tracking.
New registered accounts on a Wikipedia edition each month, key-less. It is the recruitment number for the largest volunteer project in history — and almost none of these accounts become editors.
It refreshes on a schedule, so what you see stays current.
Colours and any options can be changed in settings; nothing is stored beyond your own browser.
Counting new Wikipedia accounts
Wikimedia, the non-profit behind Wikipedia, publishes public statistics through its Analytics API, which offers editor analytics covering the number of editors and newly registered users of its projects. The saver draws a monthly series of new registered accounts for a Wikipedia edition. Reading needs no account, and in most editions anyone can edit without one, so an account marks a person who wanted a username or the extra features that come with one.
The figure counts accounts, not editors. Many people register out of curiosity and never edit, and many who do edit make only a couple of changes. Wikimedia research pages define a new editor more strictly, as a newly registered user who completes a set number of edits within a set time after registering, which is a different and smaller group. The count can also include accounts created automatically: Wikimedia's unified login creates a local account the first time someone logged in globally visits a wiki they have never visited before.
For these reasons the monthly total is better read as a rough measure of interest and outreach than of community growth. The numbers differ greatly between large and small language editions, and the most recent month may be incomplete until data is finalised.
A worked example
New registered accounts on a Wikipedia edition each month, key-less. It is the recruitment number for the largest volunteer project in history — and almost none of these accounts become editors.
Settings & tips
- Accent and Background recolour the display.
- Every value on screen comes from the live source — nothing is simulated.
- Press ESC to leave fullscreen.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this real data?
- Yes — it comes from the source named on this page and is refreshed on a schedule.
- Is a key needed?
- No. This source is fully key-less.
- Is it free?
- Yes, and it runs entirely in your browser.
- Do you need an account to edit Wikipedia?
- In most language editions you can edit without one, though an account gives a stable username and extra features.
- Why do so few new accounts become editors?
- Many sign up only to explore, so a large share never make an edit. Wikimedia research counts a new editor only after a set number of edits.
- Can this number be inflated by automation?
- It can include accounts created automatically through unified login when a user first visits another wiki, so it is not a clean count of new human volunteers.