Test Kit Research & Comparison Center
Test kit review policy
The rules we follow before any product appears in our guide, written down before the first review so they cannot be bent to fit one.
Where things stand today
No product has been reviewed, rated or tested by us, and no review label has been awarded. Our evidence table lists FDA records and published studies, which are not reviews. We have no affiliate relationships, sponsors or paid placements: we currently do not earn affiliate commissions. P in the Cup does not sell or administer tests, and buying a kit is never required to use the free schedule.
P in the Cup does not perform the testing or certify these products. This policy describes how reviews and product profiles will be handled if they are ever published. Evidence tiers for regulatory and scientific sources are set out separately in our methodology.
Four kinds of evidence, four separate labels
What each label proves, and what it does not
Each label answers a different question. None of them stands in for another, a product can carry one without the others, and they will never be blended into a single score that hides where it came from.
None of these labels has been awarded
No product in our guide carries any of these labels today. This section defines them in advance so they cannot be bent to fit a product later.
1. Vendor-verified buyer
Means: a credible source, such as the seller's own order records, has verified that the person giving feedback actually bought the product.
Proves: that a purchase happened, so the feedback comes from a real buyer describing things like packaging, delivery and how clear the instructions were.
Does not prove: that the test is medically accurate, reliable or right for you. A verified purchase is proof of a purchase, not of performance.
2. Documented validation or regulatory status
Means: we found a primary record for this exact test, such as an entry in an FDA database, an FDA decision summary or its CLIA categorization, and link to it with the date we checked.
Proves: what that record says, in that record's own words. "Cleared" and "approved" are different FDA terms, and "CLIA-waived" does not by itself mean a test is for home use. Our guide to choosing a kit explains both, with sources.
Does not prove: that a single home result is correct. Home screens remain preliminary, and a preliminary positive should be confirmed by a laboratory.
3. Independent editorial assessment
Means: our own documented review of the label, instructions for use, regulatory records and stated price, scored against the published method on this page.
Proves: what our editors found when checking those documents against sources, and how the product scored on transparency and clarity.
Does not prove: hands-on performance or accuracy, unless we say we physically tested the product. We never say "hands-on tested" unless we did.
4. Unverified consumer feedback
Means: comments or ratings where nobody has verified that the person bought or used the product.
Proves: only that someone said it. It can still point to questions worth checking.
Does not prove: a purchase, accuracy, or that the comment is genuine. It is always labelled as unverified and kept apart from the other three.
| Label | Proves a purchase? | Proves medical accuracy? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor-verified buyer | Yes | No | A credible purchase record |
| Documented validation or regulatory status | No | No; it reports what a primary record says | Primary records, such as FDA databases |
| Independent editorial assessment | No | No, unless hands-on testing is stated | Our own documented review against this method |
| Unverified consumer feedback | No | No | Unverified comments |
Editorial criteria Proposed initial method
What an editorial assessment looks at
These criteria and weightings are our proposed initial method. They have not yet been used on any product and may change after legal and expert review. Any change will be dated on this page.
| Criterion | What we check | Proposed weight |
|---|---|---|
| Label transparency | Exact substances listed; cutoff and unit for each; instructions for use available to read before buying | 25% |
| Verifiable regulatory status | Intended use (home or professional) stated; any FDA status corroborated in FDA records for this exact test; claims such as "approved" match the record | 25% |
| Path to laboratory confirmation | Whether confirmation is included, offered or left to the buyer, and whether its cost is clear | 15% |
| Clarity of instructions | Read window, storage and expiry stated plainly; limitations explained | 15% |
| Cost clarity | Cost per test can be worked out; pack size, seller, date and currency recorded | 10% |
| Honest marketing | No unsupported accuracy claims, no claim of equivalence to laboratory testing, no suggestion that a panel covers "everything" | 10% |
An editorial assessment is not a measure of accuracy. Performance evidence, where it exists, is reported separately with its source. Vendor-verified buyer feedback and unverified consumer feedback are shown separately, labelled as such, and do not feed into the editorial score.
Sources for every factual claim
Every factual statement in a product profile, including substances, cutoffs, intended use, regulatory status, expiry and price, will link to its source, with the date we checked it. Preferred sources are the manufacturer's instructions for use and official public records such as FDA's. If we cannot verify a field, the profile says "unknown" rather than guessing. We do not publish accuracy percentages unless a study we can link to supports them, and we do not describe any home test as equivalent to laboratory testing.
Ratings from other websites
We will only show a third-party rating where we are legally allowed to republish it, and then with its source, method, number of ratings and how recent it is. Where we cannot republish a rating, we will link to the retailer instead, with a plain "Read retailer reviews" link, so you can judge those reviews in their own context.
Reviews from people who use this site
We do not collect user reviews on this site today. This website has no forms or accounts, so there is no way to submit one. If reviews are added in future, they will require:
- Explicit permission from the reviewer to publish their review.
- A pseudonym by default, and no health information or test results.
- Moderation before publication, applied the same way to positive and negative reviews.
Verified-purchase reviews: what we would require
A verified-purchase review is proof that someone bought the product. It is not proof that the test is accurate, and it is graded as tier E (experience only) in our evidence tiers, never as performance evidence. If such reviews are ever shown, each would record:
- How the purchase was verified, and by whom.
- The reviewer's explicit consent to publication.
- The review date and the exact product it refers to.
- A rating only if the reviewer actually gave one.
- Moderation status, and any conflict of interest or incentive.
We would never publish reviewers' names, contact details, purchase details, health information or test results. None of this exists today: this site has no accounts, no forms and no way to submit a review, and no verified-purchase label has been awarded.
Fake, forged and incentivised reviews
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, in effect since 21 October 2024, addresses fake or false reviews, incentives that require a particular sentiment, and businesses misrepresenting a site they control as providing independent reviews. The FTC's endorsement guidance also says that asking only likely-happy customers for reviews, or holding back only negative reviews, can create a misleading picture.
Consistent with that, we will:
- Screen for spam, forged, copied and AI-generated fake reviews, and not publish them.
- Never offer anything in return for a positive review, and disclose any review given in exchange for a free product or other benefit.
- Not suppress, delay or bury legitimate negative reviews, and not sort reviews in a way that hides them.
- Remove a review only for a stated reason that applies equally to positive and negative reviews, such as spam, personal or health information, or abuse.
Money and editorial ranking
We have no affiliate relationships and no paid placements today, so there are no affiliate links anywhere on this site. An affiliate link would only ever appear with a disclosure. If that ever changes:
- Paid placement and affiliate relationships will be kept separate from editorial ranking. Payment will never change a product's assessment or its position in an editorial list.
- Any paid or affiliate link will be disclosed right next to the link, in plain words such as "Paid link". The FTC's guidance says a disclosure should be hard to miss and that the closer it is to the recommendation, the better, and that the label "affiliate link" on its own may not be understood.
- Any affiliate link will be marked in the page code with
rel="sponsored noopener noreferrer". - Links to sellers will carry no tracking identifiers and no health information.
- This page and the guide will say so, and the statement "We currently do not earn affiliate commissions" will be updated at the same time.
Hands-on testing
We never say "hands-on tested" unless we physically tested the product. Each profile will state plainly whether we physically tested it or assessed it from documents only. This follows the FTC's guidance that you cannot talk about your experience with a product you have not tried.
Corrections
If something in our guide is wrong or out of date, we want to fix it. We will correct factual errors promptly, update the "last updated" date, and note what changed on the page. Significant corrections will stay visible rather than being silently edited away. To report an error: A contact address will be published here before launch. Please do not send test results, health information or anything personal.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, "FTC's Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking" (read 21 October 2026). Supports: disclosures should be hard to miss and close to the recommendation; "Paid link" next to an affiliate link should be adequate; "affiliate link" alone may not be understood; review gating and delaying only negative reviews can mislead; you cannot talk about your experience with a product you have not tried; free products should be disclosed.
- Federal Trade Commission, "The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers" (November 2024; read 21 October 2026). Supports: the rule took effect on 21 October 2024; it addresses fake or false reviews, incentives requiring a particular sentiment, and misrepresenting a controlled site as independent.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Drugs of Abuse Home Use Test" (content current as of 27 September 2018; read 21 October 2026). Supports: home results are preliminary and a positive should be confirmed by a laboratory.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Device Approvals and Clearances" (read 21 October 2026, as cited in our kit-choosing guide). Supports: "cleared" (510(k)) and "approved" (PMA) are different.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "CLIA Categorizations" (read 21 October 2026, as cited in our kit-choosing guide). Supports: FDA categorizes tests by complexity; waived status is a laboratory categorization.
This methodology is marked for legal review before it is relied on. It is not legal advice.
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