Our statement of editorial independence
In a world where it's harder than ever to know what to trust, we're here to cut through the noise and give you clear, independent answers you can rely on.
Every review, recommendation and piece of advice from Which? is grounded in independent testing, rigorous expert analysis and impartial evidence. And because we don't answer to advertisers, shareholders or outside influence, you can trust that we always work in your interests.
How we remain impartial
Everything we do is designed to protect the independence of our journalism, recommendations and advice.
We are an independent, not-for-profit charity
We aren’t like other media companies. We aren’t owned by a big corporation or billionaire founder, and we do not have shareholders or advertisers to please. Free from these constraints, you can be confident that no one can influence what we say.
We’re entirely funded by member subscriptions, consumers who transact with us, and through the products and services our experts independently endorse. All our revenue goes towards funding our product testing, research and our campaigning work to make the consumer landscape fairer for all UK shoppers.
We buy the products we test
Uniquely in the UK, we buy nearly all of the products we test. We don’t rely on companies to send them to us, or accept freebies - which means nobody can withhold access or influence the score we give. Where this is impractical, for example cars or credit cards, we take alternative robust approaches, such as surveying owners or customers, or sharing testing costs with similar consumer organisations across the world.
We don’t take advertising or sponsorships
You won’t see third-party display adverts in our magazines or across our website. We don’t accept payments for reviews, which means manufacturers and brands can’t influence our recommendations. The only people who decide what we test are our researchers, market analysts and editors, and their decisions are based on what matters to our members, and consumers more generally.
It is because of this independence that we are able to reveal ‘Don’t Buy’ products as well as give clear recommendations of products people should buy.
How we work with companies
We tell companies what we think
We're happy to explain our findings to companies because we want them to improve. How often we speak to them, or how helpful they are (or aren't), makes no difference to what we say. Our reviews, recommendations or warnings are based solely on the results of our own lab tests of products, and on our fair and objective research, analysis and assessment of services.
Companies do not get copy approval
Our editors and researchers are able to speak to companies to find out the inside track on products and services - it's just one of the ways we gather information to give our readers the best and most up-to-date information. We never let brands approve our content before it is published.
No gifts. No junkets. No strings
To protect our independence - and the trust you place in us - our editors and journalists don’t accept freebies, paid trips, or lavish corporate hospitality.
We want businesses to work better with consumers
Our policy and campaigning teams regularly talk to companies about how to improve standards for consumers. We don’t get paid for this, and it doesn’t affect our independence in choosing what we cover and what we say. If it’s helpful for consumers to know about this work, we report it.
We only endorse the best - clearly and fairly
If you’ve seen a Which? Best Buy or Recommended Provider logo on an advert, that means the product or service genuinely earned it. These logos help spotlight the most trustworthy products and companies and encourage others to raise their game to earn the opportunity to use a Which? logo.
How we make money
People pay to be a Which? member
Most of our income comes from around 500,000 people a year who choose to pay for a Which? subscription, whether that’s for our magazines, digital access, Legal Service and helplines, or from traders who are members of our Trusted Traders scheme.
Companies can pay to shout about their Which? recommendations
After - and only after - our analysis identifies a product or service that meets our Best Buy or Recommended Provider gold standard, companies can apply for permission to use a Which? recommendation logo on their adverts or website. We charge companies a fee for this, and the proceeds go towards funding our independent research and campaigning work.
Editorial and research decisions remain completely separate from commercial activity. This separation means companies that pay to use our logos are not treated any differently in our assessments to those that don’t. And we retain the option to withdraw an endorsement should new information about a product come to light.
Read more about our symbols, logos and ratings.
We earn money from affiliate partnerships
We strive to make buying the right product or service as easy as possible by providing links to relevant retailers, comparison services or brands.
When a reader takes one of these journeys from our site we may earn an ‘affiliate’ commission. These commissions are, in the vast majority of cases, generated automatically, outside of editorial control, from a list of providers Which? has chosen to work with. Our writers are always empowered to choose the best onward journeys in their content for the reader.
Find out more about our affiliate relationships.
What we’re doing with AI
We’re taking a balanced view of Generative AI, considering the benefits and potential harms for consumers, as well as its application to our work.
We’re exploring how AI can support us in working more efficiently - helping us uncover new angles and better ways to structure and summarise during research - without ever compromising the hands-on, human-led testing and advice you rely on. We don’t use AI to write our findings.
Read more about our approach to generative AI.
How to contact us
We are committed to correcting errors quickly and making sure our editorial processes are as robust as possible.
Should you spot something, or have any comments or suggestions for where we can improve, please contact us.