Test Kit Review Methodology

Where things stand today

No products are listed. No product has been reviewed, rated or tested by us. 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.

This methodology describes how product profiles will be handled when they are published. See products under review.

Three kinds of evidence

We keep these separate, always

Each answers a different question. None of them stands in for another, and they will never be blended into a single score that hides where it came from.

Verified purchaser reviews

Shows: that the reviewer bought the product, and their experience of buying and using it, such as packaging, clarity of instructions or delivery.

Does not show: that the test is accurate. A verified purchase is proof of a purchase, not of performance.

Independent editorial assessment

Shows: what our editors found by checking the label, instructions for use, regulatory records and stated price against sources.

Does not show: hands-on performance, unless we say we physically tested the product. We never say "hands-on tested" unless we physically tested it.

Laboratory or regulatory performance evidence

Shows: what published performance data or regulatory records say about a specific test, such as FDA records, with a link.

Does not show: that a single home result is correct. Home screens remain preliminary, and a preliminary positive should be confirmed by a laboratory.

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.

Proposed initial editorial criteria and weightings (not yet applied to any product)
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. Purchaser reviews are shown separately 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.

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. 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.

This methodology is marked for legal review before it is relied on. It is not legal advice.