Affiliate Disclosure
Last Updated: January 15, 2025
🔍 Transparency First
PrivacyFirst.me contains affiliate links. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission. This helps us maintain the site and provide free privacy education. Our recommendations are always honest and based on thorough testing.
How Affiliate Marketing Works
When you click on certain links on our website and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the vendor. This is called affiliate marketing, and it's a common way websites fund their operations.
What This Means for You:
- No extra cost: You pay the same price (often less with our exclusive discounts)
- No tracking: We use privacy-focused affiliate links when possible
- Honest reviews: Our recommendations are never influenced by commission rates
- Free content: Affiliate income allows us to provide free privacy education
Our Review Process
We maintain strict editorial independence. Here's how we ensure honest recommendations:
Testing Methodology
- Personal testing: We personally test every tool we recommend
- Security analysis: We review privacy policies, encryption, and logging practices
- Speed testing: We conduct real-world performance tests
- Support evaluation: We test customer service quality
- Community feedback: We incorporate user reviews and experiences
Editorial Standards
- ❌ Commission doesn't influence rankings - Lower-paying affiliates can still be our top picks
- ✅ We highlight cons - Every review includes negatives, even for partners
- 🔄 Regular re-testing - We update reviews when services change
- 🚫 No pay-for-placement - Companies cannot buy better rankings
- 📊 Data-driven decisions - Rankings based on objective criteria
Current Affiliate Partners
We have affiliate relationships with the following privacy tool providers:
VPN Services
- NordVPN - Our top overall pick for most users
- ExpressVPN - Premium option with excellent support
- ProtonVPN - Best free tier and Swiss privacy laws
- Surfshark - Best budget option
- CyberGhost - User-friendly with streaming focus
Password Managers
- Bitwarden - Our top pick for most users (open source)
- 1Password - Premium option with excellent UX
- Dashlane - Good for beginners
Other Privacy Tools
- ProtonMail - Encrypted email service
- DeleteMe - Data broker removal service
- Blur by Abine - Email masking and privacy tools
Non-Affiliate Recommendations
We also recommend many tools where we don't earn commissions, including:
- Signal - Encrypted messaging (free, open source)
- Tor Browser - Anonymous browsing (free)
- Firefox - Privacy-focused browser (free)
- uBlock Origin - Ad blocker (free)
- Tails OS - Anonymous operating system (free)
Commission Rates
For transparency, here are our typical commission ranges:
- VPN services: $1-50 per sale (varies by provider and plan)
- Password managers: $1-20 per sale
- Privacy services: 10-30% of first payment
Note: These rates don't influence our recommendations. Our lowest-paying affiliate (ProtonVPN) is often our top recommendation.
How We Use Affiliate Income
100% of affiliate income goes toward:
- 🖥️ Website hosting and infrastructure
- 🔬 Testing new privacy tools and services
- 📚 Creating free privacy education content
- ⏰ Time for in-depth research and testing
- 🛠️ Developing privacy tools and assessments
Spotting Affiliate Links
We make it easy to identify affiliate links:
- 🔗 Clearly marked: Affiliate links go through our /go/ redirect system
- 📢 Disclosure present: We include affiliate disclosures on relevant pages
- 🎨 Visual indicators: Affiliate buttons are styled distinctly
- 📝 Transparent language: We use phrases like "Get [Service]" for affiliate links
Alternative Support Methods
If you prefer not to use affiliate links, you can still support us:
- 📧 Newsletter subscription: Join our privacy-focused community
- 👥 Community participation: Leave honest reviews of privacy tools
- 📱 Social sharing: Share our content with privacy-conscious friends
- 💬 Feedback: Help us improve by reporting issues or suggesting content
FTC Compliance
This disclosure complies with the Federal Trade Commission's guidelines for affiliate marketing. We are committed to honest and transparent advertising practices.
Questions About Our Affiliate Program
If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships or how they might affect our recommendations, please contact us:
- Email: affiliate@privacyfirst.me
- Contact Form: Contact Us
✅ Our Promise
We will never recommend a privacy tool solely for financial gain. Our recommendations are based on thorough testing, privacy analysis, and community feedback. If a tool doesn't protect your privacy effectively, we won't recommend it regardless of commission rates.
Competing Interests
We believe transparency extends beyond affiliate relationships:
What We Don't Do
- ❌ Accept payment for reviews or rankings
- ❌ Hide negative aspects of affiliate partners
- ❌ Recommend tools we haven't personally tested
- ❌ Prioritize high-commission tools over better options
- ❌ Use invasive tracking for affiliate attribution
What We Do
- ✅ Test all recommended tools extensively
- ✅ Update reviews when services change
- ✅ Highlight both pros and cons for every tool
- ✅ Recommend free alternatives when appropriate
- ✅ Maintain editorial independence