When planning to buy a tech product, say a smartphone, most of us today prefer to watch YouTube reviews about it to make a purchase decision. We rely on the honesty, integrity, and expertise of these creators to help us understand what we can and cannot expect from our purchase.

But similarly to how not all news is true, not all reviews are genuine. Fake reviews are quite common and can sometimes be hard to differentiate from real ones.

Here are seven signs to look out for that a tech review might be fake.

1. The Review Is Out Before the Product Is Announced

You'd think this one is quite obvious, but many people still fall prey to it. Companies like Apple, Samsung, Google, and more send their unreleased products to big content creators before the official launch, so that the creators can test the products and make a video about them.

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In a way, it's a win-win situation. The creators get to make and publish content early to get more views and the company gets an additional source of marketing. But because of something called an “embargo period”, companies restrict creators to publish content before a certain date—which is usually the launch date of the device.

This is why if you see a full review of a tech product before the device is officially announced on stage, it's likely that the review is fake, and the person doesn't actually own the device or has had any hands-on experience with it whatsoever.

This one is a bit tricky and psychological. Sponsored giveaways are another increasingly popular way for brands to force a positive review out of creators. Here's how it works: the company sends a creator several products to be sent to their audience in free giveaways.

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Image Credit: Unbox Therapy

On the surface level, this may look like a pretty sweet move because you're getting a chance to win free stuff. But because the creator now has those free goodies to give to their audience (usually in exchange for social media follows), they are more likely to say good things about that product.

Because naturally, if you hate the product and don't want to endorse it, you won't. But those free giveaways give you an incentive to market those products. After all, you're not ever going to say, “This product is garbage. Please follow me on Instagram to get a chance to win one”.

3. Undisclosed Sponsorships

Sponsored videos by themselves are not a bad thing. They're a way for content creators to earn a living for their hard work and help upgrade their equipment, pay employees and services, and so. But what's not right is when a person blankets a sponsored video as a review.

A review, by definition, can't be sponsored because sponsored videos often have very strict guidelines on what the creator can and cannot say about the product. A review is your personal experience and opinion about the product, not what the company wants you to say about it.

Speaking of, if a video is sponsored, it should always be publicly disclosed. Ideally, at the beginning of the video. This way, you as a viewer are aware and protected from any unfair bias that the creator might have about the product for any reason. Just putting a link in the description is not enough indication.

4. The Creator Doesn't Share Their Opinions

People watch reviews to know how a product works in real life and for real people. That involves the creator sharing their personal views, opinions, experiences, and judgment about that product. In other words, how well that product helped them in real-world scenarios.

Related: These Tools Will Help You Spot Fake Amazon Reviews

What you don't want is a video where the creator is just repeating things you've already seen in ads, without including their personal experience or thoughts about the product. Granted, you need to know the specs and technicalities of the product, but the point remains: a review should include subjective elements.

5. The Creator Doesn't Talk About Obvious Features

Due to contractual agreements, companies can restrict creators from talking about certain aspects or features of their product in the fear of bad press. A good example of this is the Google Pixel 6.

Google restricted creators from talking about the software features on the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, and obligated creators to keep their video limited to covering their first impressions, the specs of the device, the hardware, and the home screen. That's it.

If you're watching a video of a product that you intend to buy, you want relevant info about it to make a good purchase decision. But if the creator is not talking about features that should be obvious (such as sound quality on headphones), then the video does not count as a review.

Related: How to Check If Your iPhone Has Fake Parts

6. The Creator Never Shows Their Face

This red flag is a bit trickier and can have exceptions, but if the creator is never showing their face in their videos, chances are that the review is fake. Because if you are producing fake content just to earn some quick AdSense revenue, it's logical that you wouldn't want to associate that content with your personal identity.

It's understandable if you, as a creator, don't want to show your face due to privacy reasons. But it's expected of you to do so if you own a tech review channel because it gives a sense of security to your viewers that you and your content are authentic and worth trusting.

While this one red flag probably isn't enough to warrant a review as fake by itself. But, if the creator isn't showing their face and meets some of these other signs, the review may well be fake.

7. The Creator Has No Social Media Presence

Similarly to the last point, if the creator has no social media presence on any major platform, that's reason enough to be suspicious of their authenticity. Because ideally, if you are trying to build a business out of your channel, you'd market it.

Related: Ways to Check if an Email Is Real or Fake

But having a social media presence as a creator comes with the assumed obligation to be accountable for your content. And if there is no way you can verify the creator's identity, it's probably not the best idea to make a purchase decision based on what they're saying.

Stay Aware of Fake Reviews

Fake reviews are nothing new. They've been around since video hosting platforms came into existence. What's new is the creative ways fake creators have found to lure you in and make you believe what they're saying.

But as a viewer and a prospective consumer looking to make a purchase decision, you should always be aware if the person behind the review you are watching is credible and knows what they are talking about.