Affiliate links, and what they do not buy

What an affiliate link is

When we recommend a product, the link to it is often an affiliate link. If you buy or sign up through it, the company pays us a share. You pay the same price you would have paid without it.

Links marked as a deal are the same thing: a discount the company offers, which we pass on. We check that the code works before it goes out, and we take it down when it stops.

What it does not change

Commission does not move a score, reorder a list, or keep a bad product out of a review. A company that pays more per sale than a rival gets no advantage here, and we will say plainly when the thing we earn nothing from is the better buy.

Nobody sees a review before it is published, and no company can ask for a change after it is.

What we turn down

Paid reviews, sponsored verdicts, guest posts, link swaps, and any arrangement that asks for a minimum score. We also do not publish press releases as articles.

How we choose what to cover

Mostly by what readers already pay for, and by what we use ourselves. Whether a product has an affiliate programme is not part of that decision — plenty of what we cover has none, and some of what we recommend is free or open source.

Telling us we got it wrong

If a price, a claim or a test in a piece is wrong, tell us through the contact form and we will correct it and note the change.