About
How We Research and Review
The standards behind every article, software review, and book review on this site.
Our source hierarchy
When we write about a topic, we go to the strongest available source first:
- Scripture, read in its context.
- Primary sources: original studies, statutes, and manufacturer documentation.
- Peer-reviewed and academic research.
- Government and public-health sources, where appropriate.
- Established Christian theological resources.
- Reputable child-safety organizations.
- Manufacturer documentation for technology reviews.
We do not cite a statistic we have not seen in its original source. We do not invent quotations, testimonials, studies, endorsements, or credentials. When a claim needs a citation we don’t have yet, the draft says so and the page is not published.
Labels: what kind of claim is this?
We keep five kinds of statements distinct, because they carry different weight:
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Biblical teaching | What Scripture teaches, explained in context. |
| Research | Findings from empirical research, cited to the original source. |
| Expert opinion | Guidance from professionals or reputable organizations, which may reflect current best practice rather than settled science. |
| Pastoral wisdom | Wisdom from the practice of shepherding families. Helpful, but not a Scripture command or a research result. |
| Our recommendation | This site’s own judgment. Reasonable Christians and parents may weigh things differently. |
How we review software
Every review uses the same template so that parents can compare like with like:
- What is it? Who is it for?
- What does it do? What doesn’t it do?
- Supported platforms
- Filtering, accountability, monitoring, circumvention resistance, and reporting
- Privacy (what data is collected, where it goes, and what the company’s own documentation says)
- Ease of use and cost
- Strengths, limitations, and alternatives
- Testing methodology and last tested date
How we test. We set the product up on real devices we control, using a documented checklist for each platform. We record the operating-system and app versions tested. Tests include:
- Whether ordinary, non-explicit test categories are blocked or allowed as documented.
- How the product behaves across browsers, apps, and search engines.
- Whether a child (or a motivated teenager) can bypass it, for example with private browsing, another browser, a VPN, changing DNS or time settings, uninstalling, or using a different account or device.
- What a parent actually sees in reports and alerts, and how understandable they are.
- What the setup, permission requests, and privacy documentation reveal about data handling.
What we will not claim. We do not say a filter is foolproof. Every review restates that no filter replaces parenting, discipleship, conversation, and wisdom. We do not publish ratings for products we have not tested ourselves.
Re-testing. Products change. Each review displays the date it was last tested. We plan to re-test on a regular schedule and after major updates, and we note any changes in the article.
How we review books
We review a book only after reading it in full. Each review states who the book is for, what it teaches, how it aligns with Scripture, where we agree and disagree, and who should probably skip it. We distinguish a book we would hand to a friend from one we simply think is well-known. Inclusion of a book is not an endorsement of everything its author has said or written.
How we make recommendations
- A recommendation states its audience and its limits.
- We explain the reasoning so you can disagree with us.
- We separate what Scripture requires from what is a wise, prudential choice.
Conflicts of interest
We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or free products in exchange for coverage or rankings. Any affiliate relationship or personal connection is disclosed on the page where it applies, and is summarized on the About page. Ratings and rankings are never affected by commissions. Currently, that means one disclosed relationship: a referral partnership with Ever Accountable, described on its review page and on the About page.
A note on personal recommendations vs. completed reviews
Most reviews on this site follow the full process above: hands-on testing to a documented checklist, before any rating appears. Occasionally, though, you’ll see a tool highlighted as our founder’s personal, ongoing recommendation — something he uses in his own home and has found genuinely helpful — before it has gone through that complete process. We label those clearly as a personal recommendation, not a finished review, we still disclose any referral relationship up front, and we still won’t publish a star rating until the full testing is done.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it and record the change. Please report errors through the contact page. Significant corrections are noted at the bottom of the affected article.
Where AI fits in
The articles on this site are the culmination of presentations and talks our founder, Stephen, has given on this subject at multiple local schools and churches over several years, including hands-on testing of the parental-control and accountability software discussed here. You can watch one of those presentations in full on the About page.
AI has been used as a tool to synthesize, draft, refine, and present that material clearly and helpfully for this particular website: organizing years of talks, notes, and research into structured articles, drafting language, and checking claims against sources. It has not been used as a substitute for Stephen’s own research, testing, pastoral judgment, or final say over what the site publishes. Every piece of content reflects positions Stephen actually holds, not material generated independently of him and left unreviewed.