Editorial standards
How the guides are planned and checked
The rules behind the articles on this site: what gets published, what gets corrected and what never gets recommended.
What the guides are for
The blog exists to answer questions that come up while using a browser based audio tool: where a file lands on a phone, why a download stops near the end, what a bitrate label actually means. The aim is a clear answer, not a longer article. If a topic can be handled in three paragraphs, it stays at three paragraphs.
How topics are chosen
- Questions that appear repeatedly in search terms and in messages sent through the contact form.
- Problems that change with a browser, phone or operating system update.
- Claims that are common in the audio download space and easy to check, such as the meaning of a 320kbps setting.
- File management tasks that people put off because the steps are spread across several menus.
How claims are checked
Steps are tried on the devices and browsers available for the article. A phone guide is written while using the Files app on a real phone, not from a screenshot of an old menu. Audio statements are checked with tools that anyone can install, usually Spek for a spectrum view and ffprobe for file details. When a result depends on a specific stream, the article names the source instead of generalising.
Not every article needs a test bench. A piece about where Safari saves a download needs a phone and a file, not a laboratory. We try to match the level of proof to the claim being made.
No sponsored installers
This site does not accept payment for a positive review of a downloader, a cleaner, a codec pack or a browser extension. The tools named in the guides are ones we use: VLC, Mp3tag, Spek and a content blocker such as uBlock Origin. They are free or open source, and the articles explain what each one does. If a recommendation ever changes, the article says why.
Copyright position
The guides assume the reader has the right to save the file. Public domain audio, Creative Commons material and your own recordings are the clear cases. Commercial music needs permission from the rights holder. The site does not grant that permission, and no article should be read as encouragement to ignore it.
Corrections
Menus move and file paths change. If a step no longer matches what you see, send a message through the contact page with the article title and a short description of the difference. Confirmed corrections are applied to the page, and substantial changes are reflected in the updated date at the top of the article.
Independence
The site is not owned by a label, a streaming service or a converter company. There is no editorial board to please and no advertiser to protect. That is also why the articles are allowed to say that a high bitrate setting does not improve a low bitrate source.