01What Fathom Layer is
An independent technology index. We are not a store: there is no inventory, no cart, no direct sales. Items are researched and written by an automated pipeline that runs on our own hardware, under published rules that decide what can go live. The organization responsible for the platform is identified on the about page.
Where specifications come from
Specifications are read from the manufacturer's own pages, and only from the English edition. When the manufacturer doesn't publish a page — an open-source project without one, for example — a specification can also come from a small, reviewed list of independent technology publications, never from a store, an aggregator or a fan site. Every number is checked against the page it came from. When a page shows its sources, that link is the source.
What must be true before publishing
An item is only published with a complete editorial note, its strengths, its weaknesses and who it is for. Marketing language blocks publication, and so does any check the pipeline flags. Nothing is published around a failed check.
Scores
Some products carry a 0–10 design score assigned by hand before our pipeline became automated. New items are not scored. We do not generate scores automatically: a score is a judgment, and a language model is not a reliable judge of one.
No one buys placement
We do not sell ranking positions, scores or badges. If sponsored content ever appears, it will be labeled as such and kept separate from the index.
Affiliate links
Links labeled as Amazon or Best Buy links can earn a commission (through the Amazon Associates Program and the Sovrn Commerce network); every other purchase link earns nothing. Commission never affects whether an item is published or where it appears. The details are in the affiliate disclosure.
When we get something wrong
Specifications drift and links break. Published pages are audited again every day, and anything the pipeline published can be taken down in one step. Corrections reported through the contact page are held to the criteria above.