Affiliate Disclosure

What is an affiliate link?

Some links on ThreatRated are affiliate links — meaning if you click through and make a purchase, we receive a commission from the vendor at no additional cost to you. The price you pay is identical whether you use our link or go directly to the vendor.

Affiliate links are our primary source of revenue. They allow us to operate independently without displaying advertising or accepting sponsored content.

How commissions affect our reviews

They don't. This is not a standard disclaimer — it is a genuine editorial policy with a verifiable track record.

Several products ranked at the top of our comparison pages pay no affiliate commission whatsoever. Windows Defender is ranked on our antivirus page and pays nothing. Bitwarden's free tier is our top free password manager recommendation and pays nothing. These products rank where they rank because the security merits justify it.

Conversely, products with high affiliate payouts have received poor scores and low rankings where the security or privacy posture warranted it. Commission rates are never a factor in scoring.

FTC compliance

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, ThreatRated discloses affiliate relationships on every page where affiliate links appear. This disclosure page provides additional detail on how those relationships operate.

If you have questions about our affiliate relationships or editorial policies, contact us directly. We will respond to all substantive inquiries.

Current affiliate programs

ThreatRated currently participates in affiliate programs offered by cybersecurity vendors including VPN providers, password manager companies, antivirus publishers, and identity protection services. A full list of vendors is available on request.

We do not participate in affiliate programs for products we do not recommend. We do not accept payment to join an affiliate program in exchange for coverage.

Cookies and tracking

Affiliate links use cookies to track referrals — typically lasting 30 to 90 days depending on the vendor's program. This means if you click our link and purchase within that window, we receive credit for the referral even if you did not purchase immediately. No personal data is collected or shared by ThreatRated as part of this process.