[en] The large samples of τ decays available from CLEO and the four LEP experiment have resulted in new, precise measurements of the leptonic branching ratios of the τ. The experimental techniques to obtain these results are reviewed with special emphasis on the DELPHI measurement. World averages are found to be B(τ → eν/-bar) = (17.81 ± 0.06%) and B(τ → μν/-bar) = (17.36 ± 0.06%). These results are consistent with universality in the charged current couplings to a precision of about 0.25 %. The branching ratio measurements can also be used to constrain the 'low energy parameter' η. It is shown that the sensitivity to η depends on details of the momentum acceptance for muon identification in the different experiments. Assuming universality in the couplings, the estimate η = 0.012 ± 0.024 is obtained