Voting and rankings
Effective November 7, 2026
How Shoe Battles works, how it differs from Audience Pick, and what a Top 20 place means.
Choose freely, without registering
Ordinary Shoe Battles voting does not require a name, email address or account. A first-party browser identifier helps remember your choice and prevent duplicate counting.
Change your mind
Each eligible browser has one effective selection per matchup. You may choose the other design later. The latest accepted choice replaces the earlier one in the rankings; it does not add another effective vote. Earlier selections remain in the audit history. A change does not refresh the original decision date.
Fair comparisons
The collection is offered through a shuffled deck, with the two designs’ order randomized. Sharing a specific pair keeps the same two designs. Image delivery and presentation order are recorded for participation checks and future aggregate analysis. Each browser, pair and day counts at most once toward comparison-load participation. Loaded images are not proof of attention.
Provisional versus qualified
Early rankings reflect the votes so far. They can change quickly as more people join in.
To earn a Top 20 spot in a 30-day period, a design needs 30 decided matchups, votes from at least 10 browsers, at least five different opponents, 30 comparison views and a win rate of 50% or more. Ties share a rank.
One browser is not one verified person
Browser identifiers are pseudonymous, not verified identities. Clearing storage or switching devices can create a new identifier. Rate limits and anti-abuse checks reduce manipulation, but do not guarantee one vote per person. Do not use additional identifiers or automated requests to distort results.
A separate winner competition
If a winner vote opens, it will be separate from Shoe Battles and follow the finalized Top 20 lineup. Shoe Battles picks count toward the rankings.
A possible Sofia moment
Vote for your favorite designs and help them climb the Top 20. A top-ranked shoe could get its moment in the spotlight, modeled by Sofia. The films in the archive belong to their original Audience Pick rounds.
Saved favorites and sharing
Your saved edit stays in this browser until you remove designs or clear site storage. Sharing copies a page link containing design identifiers, not your vote, account, session or participant token. A shared link does not cast a choice.
Privacy and research use
The service keeps choices, changes and comparison records for up to 24 calendar months and removes older shared browser identifiers after 90 days. Your browser identity expires within 90 days. Your saved choice may still count after the browser can no longer edit it. Broad category totals can support historical footwear analysis; they are not a representative market survey. See the Privacy Policy for more details.