Where the Reviews Come From

Professional publications only

Every review we aggregate comes from an established publication that employs professional reviewers—people who test products hands-on and write detailed, structured analysis for a living. Think outlets like CNET, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, RTINGS, Wirecutter, and dozens of specialist sites covering specific product categories.

We don't use user reviews from Amazon, Best Buy, or other retailers. We don't scrape Reddit threads or YouTube comments. And we don't include manufacturer content disguised as reviews. Only independent, professional editorial content makes the cut.

How we discover sources

Our pipeline continuously scans the web for professional product reviews. When we identify a new publication that meets our quality criteria, it gets added to our source list automatically. We don't hand-pick a fixed set of “approved” outlets—any publication that consistently produces substantive, independent reviews can be included.

This means our source list grows over time. As new specialist publications emerge or as we expand into new product categories, the breadth of our review coverage expands with it.

Quality filters

Not everything that calls itself a review qualifies. We apply several filters before a review enters our system:

• Minimum substance. Reviews must contain at least 500 characters of real analysis. Quick blurbs, headline summaries, and “first impressions” posts are discarded.
• Product relevance. The review must actually be about the specific product in question. Roundup articles that barely mention a product in passing don't count.
• Editorial independence. We exclude sponsored content, paid placements, and brand-produced material. If a review is funded by the manufacturer, it's not a review—it's an ad.
• Structured analysis. We look for reviews that evaluate a product across multiple dimensions (performance, build quality, value, etc.) rather than offering only a vague overall impression.

Equal weight across sources

We don't give more weight to bigger publications. A thorough review from a niche audio site counts exactly as much as one from a major tech outlet. This prevents large publications from dominating scores and ensures that specialist expertise is valued.

The logic is simple: a well-researched review is a well-researched review, regardless of the publication's traffic numbers.

Transparency

Every product page on Criticaster links directly to the original reviews that contributed to its score. You can always see exactly which publications reviewed a product, what scores they gave, and read the full reviews yourself. We don't hide our sources—we want you to verify our work.