How we check facts

Where facts come from

Encryption details come from each vendor's security white paper and help centre. Prices come from its pricing page, apps from its download pages and app store listings. Audits link to the report or the vendor's announcement of it. Incidents link to the vendor's own disclosure or to reputable reporting.

We gathered them with AI-assisted research: a model with live web search read the vendors' pages in batches and returned each fact with its source. We then checked the consequential and unusual claims against the vendor's page ourselves, and corrected or removed what didn't hold up. Facts without a direct link cite that research batch and say so.

What "encrypted" means here

• Encrypted: the vendor's documentation says the field is encrypted on your device before it's stored, so the vendor can't read it.
• Readable: the documentation says it's stored in a form the vendor (or anyone who copies its servers) can read.
• Not verified: the documentation doesn't clearly say. We don't assume either way.
• Local-file managers such as KeePass have no company server, so there's no server copy to describe.

Unknown means unknown

When a vendor doesn't say, we write "Not verified" or "Not stated". That's different from "No". Filters never count an unknown as a match, and a missing renewal price is never filled in with a guess.

How prices are compared

• The personal price is the cheapest paid plan for one person, billed yearly, in US dollars.
• "After the first year" is what the vendor says you'll pay when an introductory price ends. If it doesn't say, we show "Not stated".
• The three-year cost is the first year plus two years at the stated renewal price. Products without a stated renewal aren't ranked.
• Prices in different currencies are never sorted against each other.
• Prices change often and differ by country and tax. Always check the checkout page.

What we don't do

• No scores, stars or "editor's rating". Guides explain their picks instead.
• No crack-time estimates. They depend on your master password, which we can't know.
• No affiliate links or sponsored placements. Nobody pays to be listed or ordered.