DGTULS publishes news, guides, reviews and comparisons about phones, apps, AI and software for readers in the US and other English-speaking countries. This page explains how we decide what to publish, and what you can expect from every article.
Our promise in five lines#
- We start with official sources and link to them.
- We say how sure we are: a news story is labeled Official, Reported or Rumor when we have classified the source. Some stories published before this policy do not have a label yet.
- We date our prices. When we quote a price, we show the day we checked it.
- We never invent tests, quotes, scores, people or numbers.
- We fix mistakes openly and note what changed.
Independence#
Our editors alone decide what DGTULS covers and what we recommend. Advertisers, sponsors and affiliate partners don't review, approve or change articles before they're published. No company can pay for a review, a better ranking or a mention. If a company gives us a product to try, we say so in the article. How we earn money: Affiliate Disclosure and Advertising Policy.
Sources and fact-checking#
- Prices, plans, specs and policies come from the company's own pricing pages, spec sheets, support pages or newsroom, linked in the article.
- When we quote a price, we show "Prices checked on {date}". Prices change, so confirm on the seller's site before you buy.
- News links to the original announcement or primary source whenever one exists, not just to another site's story.
- If we can't verify something, we leave it out or label it unconfirmed.
- We read the source ourselves. A second site repeating a claim doesn't make it confirmed.
How sure are we? News labels#
When we classify a news story, it carries one of these labels near the top:
- Official: the company, a regulator or another primary source said it on the record.
- Reported: a named, credible outlet reports it with its own sourcing, and the company hasn't confirmed it.
- Rumor: it comes from leaks or unnamed sources. We only publish rumors when they're newsworthy, and we say how reliable the source has been.
Where it helps, a news story also includes "What it means for you", a few practical lines on who's affected and what (if anything) to do.
Hands-on use and opinions#
- We only describe tests we actually ran. When a review includes hands-on use, we say what we did and for how long. When an article is based on official information rather than testing, it says so.
- We don't publish scores we didn't produce. No star ratings or numeric scores without real testing behind them.
- "Our take" sections are clearly marked opinions, with the reasons behind them.
How we use AI#
We use AI tools to help with research, outlines, first drafts, summaries and checking our writing. A person checks every fact against the sources, edits the article, adds our opinion and decides what we publish. We don't publish AI-generated text without that human review, and we don't use AI to create fake quotes, people, reviews or experiences.
When an image is AI-generated, its caption says "Illustration: AI-generated". We don't use AI to create realistic images of real products, real people or events.
Images#
We use our own screenshots and photos; company press images, credited (for example, "Image: Apple") and not altered; and licensed stock photos, credited to the photographer (for example, "Photo: Name / Unsplash"). Stock photos are illustrations: a photo of a phone isn't necessarily the model in the story, and the caption says so when it matters.
Updates and corrections#
- Updates: when prices, plans or facts change, we update the article, change the check date, and add a dated note at the end for meaningful changes.
- Corrections: if we got something wrong, we fix it and add a note: "Correction ({date}): An earlier version of this article said X. It's Y." We don't quietly change facts in published news.
- Report an error: use our contact form and include the article link. We review every report and fix verified errors quickly.
Who writes DGTULS#
Articles are published under the byline DGTULS, our editorial team. Learn more about us on the About page.
Related#
Review Methodology · Affiliate Disclosure · Advertising Policy · Contact