The contributor count helps project managers understand and report how many people are taking part in their trapping project. It updates as checks are recorded through TrapScan, giving you a useful measure of participation without maintaining a membership list. Because guest activity is counted by browser, treat the figure as an estimate rather than an exact headcount.
Describing the count in reports
Describe the figure as unique contributors: accounts when people are logged in, browsers when they're not. For example:
An estimated 43 contributors have recorded checks through TrapScan for this project.
This figure covers activity recorded through TrapScan. It excludes people whose checks reached the project only through Trap.nz or another system, and guest-browser counting can make the estimate higher or lower than the actual number of people.
How the count works
When someone records a check while logged in, TrapScan credits it to their account. An account is recognised across devices and counts once, regardless of how many checks its owner records.
When someone records a check online as a guest, TrapScan instead counts the browser they used. Each distinct guest browser counts once, so people can contribute without creating an account or joining a project. See Recording as a guest.
Checks recorded offline are credited to the account used to upload them, even if they were recorded while logged out. They never count as guest-browser contributions. See How offline mode works.
When the count differs from the number of people
Guest browsers aren't linked to personal identities, so one person can sometimes count more than once, while several people can count as one.
| Situation | Contributor count |
|---|---|
| One person uses the same account on two devices | 1 |
| One person records as a guest in two different browsers or devices | 2 |
| One person records as a guest, then later records while logged in | 2 |
| Two people share one browser and both record as guests | 1 |
| Someone records as a guest online and never creates an account | 1 |
Clearing browser data, using private browsing or reinstalling the app can also cause a guest to be counted again. This is an accepted limitation of allowing people to contribute without identifying themselves. Checks recorded as a guest remain guest checks if that person later creates an account.
Contributors are counted all-time
The count covers participation across the project's TrapScan check history, rather than just recent activity. Retiring a trap doesn't reduce it: the trap's earlier checks remain in the project history, along with the contributors recorded from them.
Trap.nz checks and the contributor count
Imported checks include the recorder name stored in Trap.nz, but no linked TrapScan account or guest browser. Names alone aren't reliable enough to identify individual contributors, so imported checks aren't included in the count.
The figure therefore measures participation recorded through TrapScan, not everyone who has ever checked a trap in your project.
Checks from before TrapScan 2.0
Earlier versions of TrapScan didn't identify guest browsers. During migration to TrapScan 2.0, checks recorded while logged in retained their account associations, but historical guest checks couldn't be attributed to individual contributors.
Projects with checks from before TrapScan 2.0 may therefore have contributor counts below the number of people who actually recorded them.