Method · September 2026

How we review and how the scores are built

Five fixed weights, one scale, and a date beside every figure.

Every tool in this catalogue is marked on the same five criteria with the same weights. Nothing is scored against a rival, and no provider sees a review before it is published. This page sets out the weights, what evidence each one accepts and what the desk refuses to do.

The weights

What each criterion is worth

CriterionWeightWhat it measures
Privacy and security30%Published retention window, deletion route, company identity, encryption in transit
Output quality25%Mask edge, lighting consistency, anatomy, maximum resolution, behaviour on occlusions
Price and free tier20%Cost per image at each bundle, whether the free tier is a sample or a demonstration
Speed15%Observed time at idle and at peak, and whether any commitment is published
Support and transparency10%Working contact channel, response time, clarity of terms and pricing pages

Privacy carries the largest weight because it is the criterion a reader cannot verify for themselves after the fact. By the time retention matters, the file has already been uploaded.

Evidence

What counts and what does not

Two sources are admissible. The first is what the provider publishes on its own public pages: prices, limits, retention periods, company details. The second is what the interface does in front of us in the standardised scenarios. Nothing else enters a score.

Marketing copy is not evidence of a capability. A claim that images are deleted immediately, with no period stated and no mechanism described, is recorded as a claim and not as a retention policy. A provider that publishes nothing on a criterion receives the mark that an absence earns, which is low, rather than a guess.

Every figure carries the date it was verified. Prices in this category change frequently and without notice, and a number without a date is not information. When the desk returns to a tool, the new date replaces the old one and the score moves if the facts moved.

The test

What the standardised scenarios are

The same test set is used for every tool: well-lit frontal photographs at medium and high resolution, taken from our own material. Each tool is run on the free tier where one exists and on the lowest paid tier, and the output is examined at full size rather than at the size the interface displays.

What we never do: we do not test these tools on photographs of third parties, we do not publish results from such attempts if they reach us, and we do not accept material from readers for testing. A review desk that built its evidence base that way would be committing the offence it writes about.

Independence

Affiliate links and what they do not buy

Six of the fourteen entries carry an affiliate link and eight do not. The links are marked on every page that carries one, they earn a commission at no cost to the reader, and they have no effect on a score. Two of the lowest-scoring entries in the catalogue carry affiliate links, and the highest-scoring entry would hold its position without one.

No provider reviews text before publication, no provider is offered a right of reply that changes a mark, and no placement in the ranking is for sale. Where a factual error is pointed out, it is corrected and the date on the affected figure changes.

Sources

What this section is built on

Technical claims on this page rest on the published research above; legal claims rest on the published texts. Everything else is what the desk observed in its own standardised scenarios, with the date recorded beside each figure.

Common questions

Questions about the method

Who writes these reviews?

The Clothoff Mexico editorial desk. The full editorial policy is published in Spanish at editorial policy.

Can a provider pay for a better score?

No. Affiliate links are marked and have no effect on the weights, which are identical for every entry.

Why is privacy weighted highest?

Because a reader cannot check it after the fact. By the time retention matters, the file has already been uploaded.

What happens when a price changes?

The figure and its date are both replaced when the desk re-checks the tool, and the price mark moves if the change was material.

Do you test on photographs of other people?

Never. The test set is our own material, and we do not accept reader submissions for testing.

How is a score calculated from the five marks?

Each criterion is marked out of ten and combined with the fixed weights above. Nothing else enters the total.