A free test still has to be paid for somehow, and you deserve to know how, and to be sure that the way we fund the site never bends the result it gives you. This page sets out how IQTests is supported, what that means for the test itself, and the line we hold between the money and the science.
How the site is supported
The test is free to take, with no account, no paywall, and no charge to see your result. We keep it that way deliberately, and we cover the cost of running it through a deliberately light model. We do not currently run advertising networks on the test, we sell no "premium report", and we do not charge for your score. Where we point readers to outside resources, such as a book or a course on cognitive science, those links may occasionally be affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you choose to buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Any such relationship is disclosed, and it is the only commercial thread anywhere near the content. If we ever introduce on-site advertising, this page will be updated before it goes live, and the rules below will still apply.
Does this affect the test or your result?
No, and this is the part that matters most. No advertiser, affiliate, or commercial arrangement influences the test items, the way your answers are scored, or how a result is interpreted. The scoring runs identically for everyone, because there is no paying tier to treat differently, and the whole calculation is published on our how we score page for anyone to check. An affiliate link to a book is chosen because it is genuinely relevant to the topic, never because of the size of a commission, and it is kept clearly separate from the test and its result. We will not let the prospect of revenue soften an honest limitation into a flattering claim. The strict separation between our commercial and editorial sides is set out in our editorial policy.
How to spot a commercial link
We try to make this easy rather than something you have to police. Any affiliate or sponsored link is identified as such, and the surrounding text makes clear when we may earn from a recommendation. Affiliate links sometimes route through a tracking parameter, which is ordinary practice and not a sign that anything is hidden. You can always find any book, course, or tool we mention directly, without using our link, and nothing about your test or your result is sponsored content or paid for by a third party. If on-site ads are ever added, they will be visibly labeled and kept clearly apart from the test and its result.
Our commitments to you
- Named, dated science. Substantive content carries an author and a review date, so you always know who stands behind a claim and when it was last checked.
- One scoring rule for everyone. The same algorithm scores every sitting, with no "enhanced" result for anyone who pays, because nobody pays.
- No advertising dressed up as a result. We will never disguise a commercial message as part of your score or its interpretation.
- No selling to a worried user. We do not use a low score, or any anxiety it might cause, as a sales opportunity; our stance on that sits in the disclaimer & responsible use page.
- Science before revenue. We update the test and its norms because the research or the data calls for it, never because a commercial interest does.
Compliance
This disclosure is written to meet the spirit and the letter of the relevant rules: the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC), the United States FTC guidance on disclosing advertising and affiliate relationships, and equivalent national consumer-protection law. Our aim is plain transparency rather than the minimum a regulator would accept. If you think any part of how we handle commercial relationships could be clearer, tell us at [email protected] or through our contact page.