Why we don't auto-publish submissions
It would be faster to auto-approve every submission the moment it comes in. We don't, because the entire point of a curated directory is that a listing being here means something — that someone actually checked the link goes where it claims, that the price and license are described accurately, and that the software does what the description says. An automated queue can't verify any of that; a person reading the actual download page can.
Step 1 — Source check
Every submission's download link is opened and traced back to confirm it's the software publisher's own domain, not a third-party mirror or aggregator. If a submitter links to a mirror site instead of the original, we reach out and ask for the official source before anything goes further — this is the single most common reason a submission gets sent back for correction.
Step 2 — License & pricing check
We confirm which of the categories a listing actually falls into — freeware, open source, free trial or freemium — by reading the publisher's own license or pricing page, not by trusting the submission form's dropdown. If a "free" tool turns out to be a 14-day trial once we check, the listing gets labelled as a trial, not published as unconditionally free.
We don't fabricate star ratings or download counts to make a listing look more established than it is. A new listing starts with zero reviews, visibly, until real visitors leave real ones.
Step 3 — Description accuracy
Submitted descriptions are compared against what the software actually does — reading the publisher's own feature list, and where practical, checking screenshots or a changelog. Marketing language that oversells the tool gets rewritten into a plain, accurate description before publishing; we'd rather undersell something true than repeat an exaggerated claim.
Step 4 — Category placement
A surprising number of submissions land in the wrong category by default — a PDF tool submitted under "Office," a backup utility submitted under "Utilities" instead of "Backup & Recovery." Correct placement matters because it's how people actually find software that solves their specific problem, so this gets checked and adjusted before publishing, not left as submitted.
What happens after it's listed
Listings aren't reviewed once and forgotten. Broken links reported through our contact form get priority fixes, and publishers can request updates or removal at any time — publisher corrections are treated as priority tickets, since keeping listings current is the whole value of the directory.
Have software worth listing?
Submissions go through this same manual review before publishing — no shortcuts either way.
Frequently asked questions
Most submissions are reviewed within a few working days. Submissions missing a clear official source link take longer, since we follow up with the submitter before proceeding.
Yes — submissions that can't be traced to an official publisher source, or that turn out to bundle unrelated installers, aren't published. We'd rather have fewer listings than ones we can't stand behind.
No — paid placements go through the same source, license and description checks as organic submissions. The only difference is visible "Sponsored" styling, never special treatment in the review queue.