Affiliate Disclosure
Some Tech Observer Magazine articles contain affiliate links to products, books, courses or services. This page explains what that means and how we handle it.
What is an affiliate link?
An affiliate link is a link to an external retailer or service provider that contains a tracking code identifying Tech Observer Magazine as the referring publisher. If you click such a link and make a purchase, the retailer pays us a small commission. The price you pay is not affected by clicking through our link rather than going to the retailer directly.
Examples of affiliate programmes we participate in include — but are not limited to — Amazon Associates, the Flipkart Affiliate programme, and various book, course and software-comparison networks.
How affiliate links appear on our site
Where an article contains affiliate links, we say so:
- A short disclosure at the top or foot of the article: “This article contains affiliate links. If you buy something through one of them, Tech Observer Magazine may earn a commission. This does not affect the price you pay or our editorial recommendations.”
- Affiliate-supported product cards (for example, a “Where to buy” box on a gadget review) are visually distinct from the editorial body of the article.
- Specific product roundups, comparison pages or buying guides that exist primarily to surface affiliate-monetised options carry a clearer banner disclosure.
How affiliate links affect our editorial decisions
They do not. Our recommendations and reviews are based on our independent assessment of a product, course or service. We do not accept payment from a manufacturer, vendor or retailer in exchange for a positive review. We do not allow affiliate-programme participation to dictate what we cover or how we cover it. If we recommend a product, it is because we think the product is worth recommending; if a recommended product happens to have an affiliate link, the disclosure above applies.
If we publish a review, comparison or buying guide and we — or the journalist writing — have a relevant non-affiliate interest (for example, the journalist owns shares in the company, or has a family connection to it), this is disclosed in the article.
Sponsored content vs affiliate content
Affiliate content and sponsored content are different.
- Affiliate content is editorial: we choose what to write about, the recommendation is ours, and we earn a commission only if a reader chooses to buy through our link.
- Sponsored content is paid for by a commercial partner who pays for the placement and typically has a say in messaging. We label this clearly as Brand Solutions, Partner Content or Sponsored, and our newsroom is not involved in producing it.
The boundary between these is firmly maintained. Sponsored content is never marked as affiliate, and editorial content is never quietly converted into a sponsorship.
Questions
Questions about a specific affiliate link, or about how a product was selected for an article, can be sent to the address on our Complaint Redressal page.
Last reviewed: 7 May 2026.
