Editorial Policy

What we publish

STD Ally publishes decision guides, comparisons, and tools for people choosing how to get tested for sexually transmitted infections. We write in plain English, lead every page with a short answer, and link primary sources. We do not publish symptom checkers, diagnostic questionnaires, or treatment recommendations.

Source standards

For every factual claim, we use one of the following kinds of source:

• Primary medical: CDC, USPSTF, NIH/NIAID, WHO, peer-reviewed journals, FDA labeling.
• Primary legal: bill text on the state legislature’s site, statute citations, regulator guidance (HHS, OCR for HIPAA).
• Primary commercial: the provider’s own pricing, terms, and FAQ pages, captured with a verification date.
• Reputable secondary: Guttmacher Institute, KFF, public-health agency dashboards, when primary data is unavailable.

When the source is uncertain or contested, we say so on the page. We don’t paraphrase second-hand summaries as if they were primary findings.

Language we avoid

We don’t use absolute words that overpromise on health or privacy:

• anonymous · guaranteed · never · always · completely private · 100% private
• FDA approved (when not literally true) · doctor recommended (when no doctor recommended it) · clinically proven
• safe for everyone · no risk · instant results

When a privacy or coverage outcome depends on context, we use may, can, typically, depending on, confirm with. We’d rather a sentence be slower than wrong.

Medical review status

STD Ally does not currently retain a clinical reviewer. We don’t use “physician reviewed” or “medically reviewed” labels and we don’t put fake clinician bylines on pages. Every page ends with a reminder that this is general information, not medical advice, and that symptoms or known exposures warrant a clinician.

We aim to add a named, licensed clinical reviewer for medical-content pages in 2026. When that happens, the reviewer’s name and credentials will appear on the page and on this policy.

AI use

We use AI tools (large language models) to help draft, summarize, and edit. Every published page is reviewed and edited by a human before publication. We do not publish AI-generated content unread, and we do not use AI to fabricate citations — if a source link is on a page, a human verified it points to the cited material.

Where AI is used to extract structured information (e.g., parsing a state statute), the source link to the underlying document is always provided so a reader can verify directly.

Affiliate relationships

STD Ally earns affiliate commissions on some commercial provider links. The relationships are disclosed near the link with a “Paid link” badge, and the link itself uses rel="sponsored nofollow" per FTC and Google search guidance. Affiliate payouts are not a ranking factor and do not affect which providers are recommended on a given page. Free public clinics and non-affiliate cash-pay options are included alongside paid options whenever they fit the user’s situation.

Updates and verification dates

Each page shows a “last updated” date. We re-verify provider prices, clinic availability, and statute citations on a rolling schedule (high-priority pages quarterly, others annually). Substantive changes get a new date and a one-line note about what changed.

Corrections

Email corrections@stdally.com with the page URL, the line in question, and (if you can) a primary source for what the page should say. We aim to acknowledge corrections within seven days and to update or remove the affected text if the correction holds. Corrections are tracked on a per-page changelog.

Conflicts of interest

STD Ally does not accept payment, free testing, or sponsored placement in exchange for favorable coverage of a provider. Affiliate relationships (if any) are disclosed both site-wide and on every page where a paid link appears. The site is independently operated and not affiliated with any specific lab, telehealth platform, or pharmaceutical company.