May 26, 2020 09:52:00 AM Edited Jun 4, 2020 09:10:39 AM by Lena E
May 26, 2020 09:52:00 AM Edited Jun 4, 2020 09:10:39 AM by Lena E
Today, Upwork users can, with certain exceptions, share contact information and communicate with each other outside of the Upwork platform. Unfortunately, communicating outside of Upwork raises risks for talent and clients in our community, while undermining the wellbeing of the marketplace.
To protect our community, we are making changes to our Terms of Service that will require all pre-contract communications take place on Upwork and no contact information to be shared before a contract is started. These changes will become effective June 26, 2020.
Here we would like to tell you about these changes so you can understand what they entail and why we are making them.
WHY ARE WE MAKING THESE CHANGES?
The goal of these changes is to create a safe environment in which both talent and clients can thrive. We have found that when users communicate outside of Upwork there is an increased risk in fraud, scam, circumvention, and other behaviors that harm our community. But when communications and work stay on the Upwork platform, not only can we track, verify, and address any issues that emerge, the potential for these behaviors to cause harm decreases dramatically. For example, the vast majority of scammers that take advantage of talent on Upwork do so by taking work or communications off the platform.
When relationships are maintained on Upwork, those outcomes become part of the record on the platform, providing transparency for other users into the reputation and success of other professionals and talent. This transparency allows for better connections, stronger relationships, and ultimately more success for professionals and clients.
WHAT ARE THE CHANGES?
These changes apply to Section 7 of the User Agreement:
Before a contract has started, professionals and clients won’t be able to ask for or share contact information with each other that would allow them to make contact outside of Upwork. This includes requesting or providing contact details in a profile, job post, proposal, invite, or message, which is an expansion from the current restriction on contact information sharing that was limited to just profiles and job postings.
Update: Freelancers and clients may not request or share any contact information* before a contract is started, with one exception. A client or freelancer may only share contact information if it is for the sole purpose of giving the other party access to a system that allows them to scope the project in advance. This allows freelancers to review a project prior to a contract so they can determine if they have the needed skills, how many hours it will take, etc.
This change also provides more clarity on what constitutes contact information, which will include but not be limited to:
As professionals and clients meet and engage on Upwork, they will need to maintain their communications - whether messages, phone, or video calls - through the Upwork platform until a contract has started.
Our larger business partners often have specific requirements and business needs that make it more difficult to use our communications exclusively. Clients who utilize Upwork Business and Enterprise solutions are permitted to request and share contact information, as well as conduct interviews or pre-contract communications, outside of Upwork. This exception extends to professionals’ communications with an Upwork Business or Enterprise client.
HOW ARE WE ENABLING THESE CHANGES?
To support these changes, we have also made improvements to our internal Message Center. We recently upgraded our call and video systems to provide more consistent uptime and a higher quality of service. These changes have provided improvements in user experience and overall user satisfaction. We have enhanced the user experience to provide more straightforward access to this service and flexibility in viewing. Lastly, we are continuing to prioritize improvements to the Message Center to ensure our users have a best in class experience in communicating with each other. Find out more about these upgrades here.
These changes will help keep Upwork’s marketplace somewhere for both professionals and clients to thrive while preventing breaches of trust that put the community at risk. If you have any questions, please comment below or contact Upwork Help.
The updated Terms of Service will become effective June 26, 2020.
Daryl Sando, Sr. Manager
Upwork Trust & Safety
**UPDATE**
We appreciate feedback shared on this thread about this upcoming change. We’d like to address and highlight a few concerns that came up multiple times on this thread.
**UPDATE**
Thanks for sharing your questions and feedback. In order to better manage your feedback and questions we are closing this thread and would like to invite you to share your feedback on the new thread here, where you can also find answers to many of the questions that have been asked.
May 26, 2020 11:22:24 AM by Candice H
I agree. The Upwork call feature is really lacking and unstable at times. Many times potential clients want to show me what needs to be done via screensharing. I don't trust the call feature being able to do that. Plus many times clients call and I'm not at my computer during that time. I wish that feature could be turned off and on depending on whether we are available for calls at that time.
May 26, 2020 12:06:05 PM by Valeria K
Hi Candice and others,
Thanks for sharing your feedback about Upwork Messages. We made several improvements to Upwork Messages, to support these changes:
Upgraded our call and video systems to provide more consistent uptime and a higher quality of service.
Enhanced the user experience to provide more straightforward access and flexibility in viewing.
We also will continue to prioritize improvements to ensure our users have a best-in-class experience when communicating with each other. Find out more about these upgrades here.
May 26, 2020 01:20:20 PM by Cristian B
Hi Valeria,
Recently I had an interview with a client through Whatsapp. I´ve asked the client to have the call through Upwork but he told me that he was unable to handle the call on his mobile. What happens when a client does not have the Upwork mobile app installed? How we handle the call?
What is more, it would be great if the Upwork Messages could have the following features:
* Screensharing. Clients want to share their screen to have a better understanding of what they need.
* Calendar. This way we can arrange a meeting with clients instead of using outsource tools like Calendly.
Best Regards,
Cristian
May 26, 2020 01:26:41 PM by Valeria K
Hi Cristian,
Upwork Voice/Video call feature is available on the mobile version of the site in case users would rather use a mobile device to do a call. Screensharing is available during the call, check out this help article for more info.
Thanks for the feedback about the calendar that you and others have provided on this thread. I'll be sharing it with the team.
May 26, 2020 02:06:00 PM Edited May 26, 2020 02:06:44 PM by Stacey G
Because there is nothing clients love more than being told they need to learn how to use an abrtirary screensharing system. So now I get to lose potential clients after paying to apply for freelance jobs.
Upwork is just daring its talent pool to leave at this point, right?
May 26, 2020 04:28:16 PM Edited May 26, 2020 04:29:29 PM by Garrek R
Stacey G wrote:Because there is nothing clients love more than being told they need to learn how to use an abrtirary screensharing system. So now I get to lose potential clients after paying to apply for freelance jobs.
Upwork is just daring its talent pool to leave at this point, right?
I don't particularly like paying to apply for a job either, be it freelance or not. I can understand the 20% fee when submitting work, but even that is a high percentage.
To Upwork: If this new change is in response to people taking clients off the platform it might be the two issues I've noted above.
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