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Independent Reviews
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Declan Mercer, BA

Senior Editor

About Declan Mercer

Declan Mercer serves as the senior editor at Independent Reviews and is the author of the majority of the lab's primary head-to-head evaluations. He embodies the publication's clear, straightforward voice, which is methodologically transparent and intentionally avoids the affiliate-blog tactics prevalent in the industry. If a comparison from Independent Reviews resembles a Wirecutter article rather than a SEO-driven listicle, Declan is largely to thank for that.

His journey into nutrition application testing has been somewhat unconventional. After graduating from Medill, his first position was at a consumer-electronics publication, where he dedicated four years to writing reviews on cameras and laptops. Subsequently, he transitioned to a productivity-software magazine, where he spent another four years covering note-taking applications, calendar software, password managers, and ultimately fitness applications. According to Declan, he grew increasingly frustrated with the trade press's treatment of productivity applications: rankings fluctuated based on affiliate commission structures, 'best of' lists were re-organized quarterly without any significant re-evaluation, and readers looking for genuine purchase guidance left without enhanced knowledge.

When Sebastian Vance approached him in September 2025, Declan's interview question was straightforward: “Will I ever need to produce a list ranked by anything other than the criterion?” The response was negative. He accepted the position that same week.

Credentials in detail

Editorial focus

Declan is responsible for most of the lab's head-to-head comparisons, the migration guides (“How to switch from MyFitnessPal to Cronometer in 2026”), and the pricing analysis articles. He oversees every comparison, best-of list, and migration guide before it receives Sebastian's final approval. He shapes the editorial voice and manages the publication's interaction with reader feedback.

Conflicts of interest

Declan has no financial connections with any calorie tracking application companies. He does not maintain any affiliate accounts. His income comes exclusively from this publication. He has never accepted payments from any company whose product is reviewed on this site. Prior to joining Lab, at his previous positions, he occasionally received hardware for review (cameras, laptops); he never accepted or received compensation in exchange for a specific review perspective, and he maintains no similar arrangements within the calorie app sector.

Recent Work

Articles

App Reviews

Comparisons