Editorial policy

Readers should be able to understand what an assessment is based on, who is responsible for it, and when its supporting information was checked. This policy sets the standards for reviews and guides published on HonestReviews.

Named authors and a separate expert reviewer

Every review and guide must have a real, named author and a different real expert reviewer. The reviewer must have relevant, verifiable qualifications or experience for the subject being reviewed. A person's involvement in reviewing an article is not an endorsement by their employer or professional body.

We do not credit fictional personas, invented experts or automated systems as authors or reviewers. We confirm contributors' identities, relevant credentials and permission to be named. Contributor profiles explain their background and link to supporting professional information where appropriate.

Until named contributors join, our reviews and guides are credited to the HonestReviews editorial team. Those pages have not had a separate expert review. We will add named authors and reviewers when they join.

Research based on documents

Our reviews use published evidence, including provider pricing pages, terms, product documentation and relevant authoritative sources. Our scores are documentary assessments. We do not describe them as hands-on testing or imply that we used a product when we did not.

Every price and factual claim must have a source URL, a capture date, a named verifier and an evidence snapshot in our editorial records. We distinguish a provider's statement from our own conclusion and identify significant limitations or conflicting information.

For legal, tax, medical, financial and compliance topics, general explanations cannot resolve every reader's circumstances. We direct readers to appropriate professional advice when a decision depends on their situation.

Automated assistance and human responsibility

We use automated tools to assist with research and preparation of content. These tools do not replace source verification, editorial judgment or expert review.

Every quotation is checked against the live source page before publication. The named author and reviewer remain responsible for the accuracy of the published article. We do not treat an automated summary as an original source or fabricate quotations, tests or personal experience.

Prices, offers and freshness

Prices are shown with the date they were checked. We flag price information when it reaches 60 days without a fresh verification. At 120 days without verification, we hide that price from public display until it is checked again.

When an offer changes, the updated offer supersedes the earlier record. We retain the earlier record in our editorial history rather than silently replacing it. A superseded offer is not presented as currently available.

A check date records when we reviewed the source; it is not a promise that the provider has kept the same terms since then. Always confirm the final price and conditions on the provider's website.

Commercial relationships and conflicts

Commercial staff handle affiliate and advertising arrangements. Authors and expert reviewers handle sourcing, scoring and editorial conclusions. Commission amounts are not part of the documentary scoring rubric.

Our ordering system can make the limited commercial adjustment explained in How we make money. That does not authorize changes to facts, unsupported praise, inflated popularity counts or the removal of substantiated criticism.

Contributors must disclose relevant financial, employment, ownership or personal relationships before accepting an assignment. We reassign work where a conflict would compromise the assessment, and disclose material relationships to readers where appropriate. Providers may point out factual errors, but payment does not buy editorial approval.

Corrections and meaningful changes

We investigate credible reports, update information when the evidence supports a change, and add a dated correction note when an error materially affected the meaning of an article. Routine spelling and formatting fixes do not normally need a public note.

Read our corrections policy and form or email corrections@honest-reviews.org.