Sponsored essays, not sneaky ads.
Aligned vendors can fund a deep-dive essay — disclosed at the top, useful if the sponsor disappears, never inside tool output.
This is how Tooly pays some bills without becoming the kind of site described in Why free isn't free. No AdSense. No affiliate links inside tools. No "sponsored tool" buttons at the top of menus.
What we offer
- One sponsored essay per quarter (max 4/year) — a long-form piece on a topic that fits the sponsor and the audience.
- Disclosure at the top — plain language: who paid, why they were chosen, that the essay would exist without them.
- Editorial veto — if the sponsor asks to soften criticism or add fluff, the answer is no.
- No tracking scripts from the sponsor — static text and one outbound link, same privacy bar as the rest of the site.
Natural pairings: password managers ↔ password entropy, auth vendors ↔ JWT decoded, security tooling ↔ magic numbers / File Inspector.
What we won't do
- Sponsor a tool page's UI or output
- Run cookie-based ad networks or retargeting
- Accept sponsors whose business model is selling user data
- Publish sponsor copy without a byline disclosure
Display ads, if they ever appear, are a separate track: EthicalAds only, at ~50k pageviews/month, announced in advance. See Support.
Get in touch
Email toolymctoolface@gmail.com with subject Sponsorship. Include the topic you'd want to support and why it's a fit for developers who care about privacy.
Readers come for trust. Sponsors pay to stand next to that trust — not to borrow it under false pretences. Individuals can still tip via Support; companies can self-host the tools.