How we review

The three evidence levels

Every article states, near the top, how much first-hand evidence sits behind it. We pick the label honestly and change it if the evidence changes.

Documentation-based review

Built from the product's official documentation, pricing and policy pages, not from our own hands-on use. These articles explain what a product says it offers, what it costs and what its policies say. They do not claim personal experience of using it.

Hands-on tested

Our editors used the product directly for this piece, alongside its official documentation. The article will say what we did, on what plan and when. We only use this label when an editor has actually used the product for the piece.

Not yet independently tested

We have not verified these claims ourselves yet. Treat product details as reported, not confirmed. We use this label for early coverage, news about a product, or where official documentation is thin.

How we source facts

• Primary sources first: official pricing pages, terms, privacy policies, help centres and app store listings.
• Dated: every source is listed at the end of the article with the date we accessed it, because AI prices and features change often.
• No invented numbers: we do not make up statistics, user counts, test scores or star ratings. If we do not know something, we say so.
• Clear wording: when something comes from the company, we present it as the company's claim, not as our finding.

How we check fixes and app facts

Companion apps change every week, so most of our guides are about checking, not opinion. For each guide we:

1. Start from official pages: the app's help centre, pricing page, terms, privacy policy, official blog or status posts, and its official app store listings.
2. Read recent community reports for fixes and outages, such as user forums and official community channels. These tell us what is going wrong right now. We report them as reports, not as confirmed facts, and we do not quote private individuals by name.
3. Write the fix in order of likelihood: the most common cause first, then the less likely ones, with the official route (support, account settings) always included.
4. Mark what we could not confirm. If an official page was unavailable or unclear, the guide says so instead of guessing. In our app data, an unconfirmed feature is recorded as unknown and never counted as a yes, for example in the Companion Matcher.

Checked-on dates and change logs

Fixes, alternatives, safety, "worth it" and "what's new" guides must carry a Checked on date: the day we last verified their facts against the sources. Our publishing checks refuse to publish those guides without one.

When a guide changes in a way that matters to readers, such as a new price, a rule change, a fix that stopped working or a correction, we add a dated line to its What changed in this guide box. Each app hub merges these entries into one timeline, so you can see what changed for that app and when. We do not backdate entries or delete them.

No pay-for-verdict

Companies cannot pay for a review, a placement in a list or a particular conclusion. We do not accept payment in exchange for coverage. Where we earn affiliate commissions, the commission rate never decides which product we recommend, and pages with affiliate links are clearly marked. See the affiliate disclosure.

Why there are no star ratings

We do not publish star ratings, scores or awards. A single number hides the trade-offs that matter, and we would rather show our reasoning against stated criteria.

AI companion coverage

Some AI companion products are intended for adults. Our coverage of them is non-graphic and focuses on cost, privacy, safety and value. Articles about adult-only products carry an 18+ notice.

Corrections and updates

If we get something wrong, we fix it and show an updated date on the article. Significant corrections are noted in the article itself. To report an error, email hello@aitryvo.com with the page address and what needs checking. See our corrections policy.