UsefulShelfThe people behind the shelf
Who runs UsefulShelf
UsefulShelf is built and operated by Kartik Labhshetwar, a software maker based in India. Kartik writes the guides on the UsefulShelf blog. Guides about products Kartik built say so in the article.
What UsefulShelf does
UsefulShelf is a directory of useful apps and websites. Each approved listing gets a public, server-rendered page with product details, a category, structured data and a direct link to the website. People can browse and search the directory, and AI agents can search live listings through our search API or MCP server.
UsefulShelf (usefulshelf.co) is a reviewed directory of apps and websites. It does not generate images or videos and is not affiliated with usefulshelf.com, a separate AI image and video tool with a similar name.
A listing makes information about a product available. It does not promise indexing, rankings, traffic or recommendations from AI tools.
How review works
When an app is submitted, UsefulShelfBot fetches the submitted page once. A classifier judges whether it is a useful, working product. Clear cases are approved right away. Placeholder, low-effort, adult, gambling, crypto and spam sites are rejected. Uncertain classifications are not approved, and unreadable websites or classifier outages stay private until they are retried or reviewed manually.
Payment never bypasses review. Private, pending and rejected listings do not appear in public search, sitemaps or machine-readable feeds.
How links and badges work
- Free with a badge: review approval and a verified, visible UsefulShelf badge. The website link is followable, and the badge is checked daily.
- Free without a badge: review approval only. The website link uses
rel="nofollow". - Paid dofollow: $9 once, with review approval and confirmed payment. The website link is dofollow, with no badge required. Paid listings appear before badge-verified listings, then nofollow listings, with newer published apps first within each group. This is a directory listing, not an ad slot or a quality ranking.
- Homepage ads: Spotlight cards are labeled Sponsored and use sponsored links. See advertising.
Compare the listing plans on the pricing page.
Contact
Email hello@usefulshelf.co for questions, corrections or takedown requests, or send feedback. Read our terms and privacy policy.