NSA to release estimate of number of Americans under surveillance

Same thought. Metadata won't count for them, obviously, or the answer is "all." Probably they won't count storage of transcribed content either (again the answer might well be "all.") Here's guessing that they won't count multiple bots scrutinizing transcriptions of every word you've said in emails or on the phone as "surveillance", either. I personally wouldn't be shocked if the correct answer in this latter case is also "all."

I might add that for those who think that they have nothing to hide, that's the wrong question. As I've found out personally, the real question is whether every single friend of yours you contact, let's say by phone, has anything to hide. When interrogated, they won't be told that surveillance was the source, they will be told or led to believe YOU were the source, and turned them in. Then the fun really begins. [Note that in the incident I just described, an acquaintance's wife was dragged in for what was a criminal offense at the time, but this offence has since been removed from the criminal code, so I don't feel bad about not reporting it at the time. She was not, to the best of my knowledge, prosecuted. Surveillance on me has since increased, however; and my circle of friends decreased.]