How we test
A recommendation is only worth as much as the method behind it — so we publish the method, not only the conclusion.
Last updated: 10 August 2026
Hands-on first
Before anything is written, the product or service is put through actual use. We buy or sign up like any other customer where that is possible, and we record what we did — the version tested, the platform, the date, and the conditions.
We do not build a review by rewriting a vendor’s marketing page or aggregating other people’s reviews. If a page is built on secondary sources, it says so.
Criteria declared before the verdict
For each comparison we state what we are measuring and why, before presenting the result. Criteria are chosen for what actually decides the outcome for a user — for example, what happens when you lose access to an account, or what a tool does with your file after it finishes processing it.
Where a criterion cannot be measured cleanly, we say that rather than inventing a score for it.
What we did not test
Every review states its own limits. If we did not run a recovery flow end to end, did not test on a particular platform, or could not verify a vendor’s claim independently, that is written on the page.
This is the part most review sites leave out, and it is the part that tells a reader how much weight the conclusion deserves.
No single overall score
We do not publish an aggregate rating out of ten. A single number hides the trade-off that actually matters and invites comparison between products measured on different things. Instead we give a best-for-whom verdict: which product suits which situation, and the condition under which the answer changes.
Prices and specifications
Prices are given with the date and the region they were checked in, because most vendors vary both. Where a price could not be established reliably — for example when a page renders differently by region — we say so instead of publishing a figure we cannot stand behind.
Updates
Products change. A review carries the date it was last verified, and when a change alters the recommendation, the page is updated and the change is stated.
Questions about a specific review
If you want to know how a particular conclusion was reached, ask us at [email protected]. Our full set of rules is in the editorial policy.