no. 01 Principles

Five principles, five operational examples each.

Below: five operational rules we hold ourselves to, each tied to something specific elsewhere on the site. Plus five things we will never do. If a rule on this page contradicts something you've seen on Knock, tell us at hello@knockphone.co.uk.

no. 02 The principles

Plainness over polish

Every claim on this site can be reduced to a real number, a primary source, or a thing we actually did. We don't use 'transformative' or 'leverage' or 'unlock'. We say what the phone weighs in grams and how many days the battery lasts.

How it shows up

Every statistic on the site links to its primary source (Ofcom, Parentkind, Ipsos, DfE).
Prices are shown with the actual number, never 'starting from'.
Reviews list specific weight, specific battery life in days, specific software details.

See it on the research page →

Patience over urgency

No countdown timers. No 'only 3 left'. No 'limited-edition'. The Nokia 3210 (2024) will be on Amazon UK tomorrow, next month and next year. The decision to delay your child's smartphone is not improved by panic.

How it shows up

No urgency widgets anywhere on the site.
The conversation guide is free on the site, so a parent can take it home, sit with it, and decide in their own time.
The newsletter sends when there is a piece worth sending, never on a marketing schedule.

See it on the product page →

Specificity over generality

Knock names people, brands, programmes and sources. A published UK secondary-school phone-free pilot involving around 75 pupils, with academic partners and named researchers, qualitative work, not 'a recent study'. Smartphone Free Childhood, not 'a parent movement'. Specifics, not adjectives.

How it shows up

Every long-form note carries a byline and a date.
Where the cited research has a named institution and lead researcher, the page names them.

See it on the who's-behind-it page →

Listed sums over hidden ones

No surcharges at checkout, because there is no checkout here. The phones we recommend are sold by UK retailers at the price the retailer publishes. The conversation script is free. We earn a small affiliate commission on the buy buttons, at no cost to you, and the commission rate does not change the order of our recommendations.

How it shows up

The pricing guide names a real range, not 'starting from'.
Every affiliate buy button shows the retailer's actual price next to it.
Imports with VAT and customs are flagged separately, e.g. the Light Phone III.

See it on the pricing page →

Operational ethics over slogan ethics

'Honesty' isn't a value, it's what you can be sued for not having. We've written down five specific things we will never do. They are operational, not aspirational.

How it shows up

The 'Things we will never do' section below names five specific behaviours, not abstract values.
The /editorial-standards page is operational, not promotional.
The /policies page lists every commitment in plain language with best-effort timeframes.

See it on the policies page →

no. 03 Specifically

Five things we will never do.

Recommend a phone that parents wouldn't take seriously.
Accept payment from a manufacturer in exchange for a change to a recommendation, a ranking, or a review.
Use AI to invent a quote, a customer story, a parent testimonial, or a statistic.
Use stock photography of children's faces in our marketing.
Notes from Knock sends only when there is an editorial piece worth sending, and never marketing.

no. 04 Questions

A few questions about how this works.

Why publish values like this?

Because vague brand values are worthless. 'We believe in honesty' tells you nothing. 'We will never accept payment from a manufacturer to change a recommendation' tells you something you can check us against. The five values above are tied to specific operational commitments shown elsewhere on the site.

What's the difference between values and policies?

Values are the principles. Policies are the procedures. The values on this page describe how we think. The /policies page describes what we do when something goes wrong. Both are public.

Will these values change?

The values themselves shouldn't. The operational examples will, as the work grows. We'll review this page annually and update the examples with the latest specifics.