Linux just cracked 10% desktop usage in North America, but no one's sure why

10.61% in June 2026, up from 3.56% in May

Tripling in ONE MONTH.

Yeah, I’m sorry everyone. As much as all of us love Linux and (rightfully) hate Microslop, that’s a jump that simply cannot be explained just by human users.

Data from Cloudflare Radar appears to support that explanation. Cloudflare reportedly recorded a similar rise in Linux traffic, but the spike largely disappeared when its data was filtered to include only traffic identified as human. The comparison is not a direct match for StatCounter’s methodology, but it provides a strong indication that bots and automated systems are responsible for much of the sudden increase.