Editorial Guidelines

Our review scope

HypnoNews reviews consumer hypnotherapy apps, programs, and educational resources — products end users buy, install, and use independently for general wellness purposes (anxiety, sleep, habit work, stress, self-confidence).

We do not review:

• Clinical hypnotherapy practitioners (licensed therapy sits outside consumer-tech scope)
• Medical devices regulated by FDA / CE-MDR / equivalent (none exist for hypnotherapy at consumer-app level as of this writing)
• Prescription digital therapeutics (DTx) requiring clinician oversight

Within our scope, we test what users can verify after purchase: session quality, localization, content breadth, pricing transparency, privacy practices, evidence anchoring.

Our mission and values

HypnoNews is an independent editorial platform covering hypnotherapy through the lens of clinical evidence and firsthand product testing. We are not affiliated with any hypnotherapy provider, app developer, or training organization.

Our editorial mission rests on three principles: accuracy grounded in peer-reviewed research, transparency about how we make money, and practical value for readers navigating a complex and often confusing field.

We believe everyone deserves access to reliable health information — free from hype, jargon, and hidden commercial agendas.

Editorial independence and commercial disclosure

HypnoNews reviews, rates, and compares hypnotherapy products as an independent editorial publication. Our assessments are based on firsthand testing, published research, and structured evaluation criteria — not commercial arrangements.

Current status. HypnoNews is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of the products, apps, or services reviewed on this site. All links to third-party products are standard (non-affiliate) links to official websites. We do not receive compensation of any kind from the companies whose products we review.

This independence is reflected in our ratings. We assign scores based on our evaluation framework, including critical ratings where warranted. A product receiving a 6/10 or lower is as important to our credibility as one receiving a 9/10.

Safeguards

• Ratings and rankings are editorial decisions. No company can pay to change its score, improve its placement, or guarantee a review.
• Affiliate relationships do not affect content. If we earn commissions through product links in the future (see Advertising and Sponsorship), this will not alter any assessment. Products that earn affiliate revenue receive the same scrutiny as those that do not.
• Sponsored content is labeled. If we ever publish content created in partnership with a brand, it will be clearly labeled as “Sponsored” or “Paid partnership” at the top of the article. As of this writing, HypnoNews has no sponsored content.
• Staff disclosures. Team members must disclose any personal or financial relationships with companies in the hypnotherapy space. Conflicted individuals do not review or rate those products.

The disclosure we place on every review and comparison page

“HypnoNews is an independent editorial publication. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of the products reviewed on this site. All assessments reflect our independent editorial judgment based on firsthand testing and published research.”

Factual accuracy standard for product coverage

Because we cover products without a commercial relationship, we hold ourselves to strict factual standards:

• Pricing, features, and availability are sourced from official websites and app store listings, with the date of verification noted.
• We do not reproduce marketing copy. Product descriptions are written in our own words based on firsthand use.
• Screenshots are our own captures of the live product. We use product logos and brand imagery under editorial fair-use doctrine (see “Logo and visual asset usage” below).
• If a product creator disputes any factual claim in our coverage, we investigate and correct verified errors as soon as possible.

Future affiliate partnerships

We may enter affiliate partnerships with hypnotherapy product providers in the future. If and when this happens:

• This page will be updated to list all affiliate partners by name.
• Every article containing affiliate links will display a clear disclosure at the top, before the first affiliate link.
• The disclosure will read: “We independently test and review hypnotherapy products. We may earn commissions through our links at no extra cost to you. Learn about our editorial process.”
• Our editorial ratings, rankings, and review conclusions will not change based on affiliate status. The same evaluation criteria and scoring system apply regardless of commercial relationships.
• Products reviewed before an affiliate relationship existed will not have their scores retroactively changed.

Logo and visual asset usage

HypnoNews reviews include product logos, app interface screenshots, and brand imagery sourced from the product’s public marketing material or our own captures of the live product. We use these under editorial fair-use doctrine — to identify the subject of review and to support specific factual claims.

We do not modify or misrepresent brand assets. If a brand identifies a verifiable misuse, contact [email protected] and we will review promptly.

Content creation process

Every article follows a structured workflow:

• Research. We begin by reviewing current literature from the source tiers we describe in How we evaluate evidence. We also review existing high-ranking content to identify gaps and outdated claims.
• Drafting. Articles are written by health writers with subject-matter expertise, following this style guide. Clinical claims are cited inline. Language follows the standards described in How we evaluate evidence — we never overstate efficacy.
• Expert review. Every clinical claim is cross-referenced against peer-reviewed literature. We are actively building a panel of certified hypnotherapists and mental health professionals to add expert review as an additional editorial layer. Until then, source verification serves as our quality gate.
• Editing and quality check. Before publishing, every article is reviewed for factual accuracy, source quality, readability, and SEO best practices.
• Publication. Articles display the author name, publication date, and — for updated content — a visible “Last updated” badge.

How we evaluate evidence

Hypnotherapy is a health topic under Google’s YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) framework, so we hold every clinical claim to a higher standard of evidence than general-interest content. Our source tiers, the A–D evidence-grade rubric shown on every article badge, the evidence labels we apply, and the hedged language we use are documented in full on a dedicated page:

→ How we evaluate evidence

Product review methodology

When we review hypnotherapy apps, tools, or programs, we follow a consistent evaluation framework:

Testing protocol. Every product is tested independently for a minimum of four weeks. We purchase subscriptions with our own funds — we do not accept free accounts in exchange for reviews.

Evaluation criteria

We assess each product on seven weighted criteria. The framework reflects what consumer users can verify after a minimum four-week test, with emphasis on dimensions where most apps in this category meaningfully differ:

How we choose evaluation criteria

We choose criteria where consumer outcomes meaningfully vary across products in this category. Each criterion in our 7-dimension framework is selected because it answers a concrete user-protection question:

• Localization (25%): Non-English-native users get worse outcomes from English-only or poorly-translated apps. Cultural metaphor adaptation affects suggestion efficacy. Most apps in this category are US-default; differences here are large.
• Topic breadth & membership (15%): Per-topic paywalls fragment value. Single-membership full-library access is materially better consumer value.
• Editorial session assessment (15%): Voice consistency, pacing, and tone discipline directly affect whether a session works for the user.
• Evidence anchoring & claims integrity (20%): Apps making unverified medical or esoteric claims cause real user harm — they delay legitimate treatment-seeking and erode trust in the category. We weight this heavily.
• Session production quality (10%): Audio production affects relaxation and trance induction efficacy.
• Privacy & data practices (10%): GDPR posture, data architecture, and tracking practices matter for any consumer wellness product.
• Value & pricing transparency (5%): Hidden pricing and predatory billing harm consumers; we weight this lightly because pricing is easily verifiable on the product website.

We disclosed this framework before publishing any product review under it. We do not change criterion weights based on which products perform well under them.

How we test session quality

For the Editorial session assessment criterion (15% weight), we listen to a representative cross-section of sessions across topics covered by each app — typically 8–12 sessions per product over the four-week test. Our editorial team listens with the following checks:

• Voice consistency: Does the narrator maintain a stable tone, pace, and register across sessions? Do production levels (volume, EQ) feel matched session-to-session?
• Pacing craft: Are silence pauses placed where they serve trance induction (after suggestion delivery, before transition cues), or are they arbitrary? Does the session breathe?
• Language discipline: Are forbidden YMYL terms absent? Are effort-reducing fillers absent (just relax, simply notice, gently allow)? Is research-suggestion language hedged appropriately?
• Stated-intent delivery: Does the session deliver what its title and description promise? Does the structure (induction → deepening → suggestion → emergence) hold?
• Contraindication awareness: Does the app surface contraindications for users with relevant conditions (e.g. dissociative disorders, psychosis history) before session start? Does it warn against use while driving / operating machinery?

Rating scale:

Re-evaluation. Reviews are updated when products release major updates, change pricing, or when new competitive alternatives emerge. The “Last updated” date reflects the most recent re-evaluation.

What we don’t claim

HypnoNews is an editorial review publication. We are clear about the limits of what app reviews can establish:

• We don’t claim apps treat medical conditions. Consumer hypnotherapy apps are general wellness tools. They may support relaxation, habit change, or anxiety reduction in some users; they are not medical interventions and we do not present them as such.
• We don’t certify clinical safety. Our reviews assess consumer experience over a four-week test window. We are not a substitute for clinical evaluation by qualified mental health professionals.
• Our ratings reflect editorial judgment, not regulatory approval. A high HypnoNews score signals that an app performs well on the dimensions we assess. It does not signal that the app is medically certified, approved, or recommended for any specific condition.
• Users with active mental health conditions should consult a licensed practitioner before using any hypnotherapy app. No app review can substitute for that conversation.

Corrections and updates policy

We take accuracy seriously. When errors are identified — whether by our team, readers, or the subjects of our coverage — we follow this process:

• Factual corrections (incorrect data, misattributed claims, broken sources) are fixed immediately. A correction note is added at the top of the article: “Correction [date]: [description of what was changed].”
• Outdated information (pricing changes, discontinued features, new research) is updated in-place. The “Last updated” badge reflects the revision date.
• Substantive editorial changes (revised ratings, changed recommendations, rewritten sections) are noted in the article with a brief explanation.

To report an error: email [email protected] with the article URL and a description of the issue.