How trust works

Trust is server-owned state. It is computed from two independent inputs — listener evidence (ratings) and the Chromic process (review decisions) — and the Chromic inputs are bound to one exact asset version.

The ladder (lowest → highest)

  1. 1

    COMMUNITY

    Baseline for every published asset. Anyone may rate; ratings are version-aware listening evidence.

  2. 2

    HIGHLY RATED

    Rating-derived only: at least 5 ratings AND average ≥ 4.0. Still zero Chromic involvement.

  3. 3

    CHROMIC REVIEWED

    A Chromic reviewer approved this exact version (signal-path audit, band-gain caps, policy checks).

  4. 4

    RECOMMENDED

    Editorial recommendation by the Chromic team, scoped to this exact version.

  5. 5

    VERIFIED

    Full verification on the exact version: round-trip, device rigs, latency budget, safety caps.

POPULAR ≠ REVIEWED

Popularity is just rating count. Count alone can never move an asset past HIGHLY RATED — only an approved Chromic decision on the current version can.

NEW VERSION ≠ AUTOMATICALLY VERIFIED

Review decisions attach to exactly one version. Publishing a new version resets the Chromic ladder for that version; the asset falls back to rating-derived trust until the new version is reviewed again. Demotion is always possible (symmetric).

Live examples of every state

    System

    Backend mode
    SUPABASE
    Signed in
    signed out
    Persistence
    Ratings, reviews, saved items and submissions persist in the Supabase Postgres backend.