I have a question about how tool suggestions are evaluated form start to final decision. Is there minimum number of votes or minimum discussion period required before a tool can be accepted/rejected? Who makes a final decision, users voting for a tool or Mods? Can Mods not accept a tool even if it …

I will answer what I can… [image] J0066: Is there minimum number of votes or minimum discussion period required before a tool can be accepted/rejected? No. Votes are just used as a barometer to gauge community interest in the tool. [image] J0066: Who makes a final decision, users voting…

Thank you! I can see this tool got many votes in this short period of time when voting was open, so I wonder if “human factor” you are talking about relates more to Mods preferences, if they like certain tool or not. If that’s the case, could it mean that the PG website’s list of recommendations is…

[image] J0066: I just thought Mods probably don’t pay attention to new comments if a topic is marked as “rejected”. Just because you have a comment on a tool suggestion, regardless of status, doesn’t mean the moderators or staff will comment on it. Go through the tool suggestion part of the f…

I mean, I don’t expect something to be approved overnight, but at least I would expect to change invalid status. It’s marked as “rejected” for a reason that is no longer applicable. Also it’s ongoing discussion from 2023 so definitely it’s not short period of time. I don’t expect Mods to answer un…

Yeah, long standing PG members here know that PG team is infamous for their inaction of things at times, albeit, more so lately. The entire process itself is still not properly established with themselves as I understand having read some other threads that speak on this. So, many things take time o…

[image] DigitalAutonomy: why they don’t “rush” into recommending something officially. But even then, that in and of itself doesn’t make it certain that a product won’t worsen in the future. I think the Skiff situation really put the Privacy Guides staff off of making recommendations early in…

The “slowness” from PG’s end to those who don’t know the inner workings only reads like a non profit run with bureaucracy. Yes, avoid the next Skiff by de-listing things when a product goes bad. Like I said, I no longer buy the argument that a product needs to be a veteran for years on end meeting …

[image] DigitalAutonomy: The “slowness” from PG’s end to those who don’t know the inner workings only reads like a non profit run with bureaucracy. Yeah, I agree it probably does largely come down to this. Also I do agree that: [image] DigitalAutonomy: Things always and do change. We ne…

They should at-least have another list of sorts where they name the tools under active consideration so folks reading and learning about all things privacy can learn about them too. And sometimes, those tools may fit better in the threat models of those reading. Not everyone wants the best of the be…

[image] DigitalAutonomy: I don’t know.. they should do something. Stop taking too long. Their focus now is on improving their videos and other content. Website appears to have taken a back seat. You have to do it all at the same time. I’d expect the Mods to at least jump into this tool sugges…

Privacy Guides Community

What does the process of tool suggestion look like from start to finish?

Site Development

J0066 April 30, 2026, 3:45am 13

I hope the Mods won’t think that way. Users just want some more clarity and I believe we are allowed to tag them if we need their response on important topics.

2 Likes

Topic		Replies	Views
Question regarding tool suggestion policy General	4	343	January 23, 2024
How does voting work on the Privacy Guides forum? Meta discourse	3	173	July 22, 2025
How do votes work? Questions	7	139	February 3, 2026
Tool suggestions should start with a standard form Meta other	2	221	November 8, 2024
Why keep "rejected" or "accepted" tool threads open? Meta discourse	4	349	February 8, 2025

Privacy Guides

Massive organizations are monitoring your online activities. Privacy Guides is your central privacy and security resource to protect yourself online.

Privacy Guides is a non-profit, socially motivated website that provides information for protecting your data security and privacy.

We do not make money from recommending certain products, and we do not use affiliate links.

Knowledge Base

Private Web Browsers

Top VPN Providers

Privacy-Respecting Services

Software Recommendations

More Resources

What does the process of tool suggestion look like from start to finish?

Related topics