How we judge

Evidence before opinion

A verdict rests on what official bodies, independent tests, expert reviews and real users report, and never on our taste or opinion. What the maker and advertisers say is what we check, not what we believe.

Every sentence has a source

Each sentence in a report points to the evidence it comes from, and you can open that source. A sentence that no source supports is removed before the report is published.

A few sentences are fixed statements made by our own system from its search record, such as how many searches we ran. They say what we did, not what we think.

How evidence is weighed

Evidence is weighed by rules written in advance, the same for every product, so no verdict depends on a writer's mood.

• Counts more: a demonstrated test, a long period of real use, an independent source.
• Counts less: a page that earns from affiliate links, a reviewer who got the product free or was paid, an impression of an effect a user cannot judge.

What the verdicts mean

Recommended

The weighed evidence supports the maker's main claims.

Mixed

The evidence is divided: some of it supports the claims and some contradicts them.

Not recommended

The weighed evidence contradicts the maker's main claims, or a public health or safety authority warns against the product.

Insufficient evidence

We did not find enough independent evidence to judge. We say so rather than guess.

Every verdict is also marked "Established" or "Preliminary". A preliminary verdict rests on little evidence, often because the product is new, and it may change as more evidence appears.

Negative verdicts show their sources

A "Not recommended" verdict follows fixed rules applied to what the cited sources say. Its page shows the sources' own words, so you can judge them yourself.

Commissions never decide

We may earn a commission from some store links. It never changes a verdict, the order of the stores, or the products we suggest. The details: Affiliate disclosure