Important Reminder: Policy on Sharing Contact Information

[#1]

Hi there! I'm from Upwork's Customer Experience and Trust product team. Ensuring that Upwork remains a safe and trustworthy environment is at the core of what we do. In line with this commitment, I'd like to remind everyone about our critical policies regarding contact information sharing and payment processes. By adhering to these guidelines, we not only safeguard every transaction but also uphold the integrity of our platform.

No Exchange of Personal Contact Information Before Establishing a Contract 

To help maintain security and privacy of your Upwork account, personal contact information exchange (phone numbers, email addresses, social media) is prohibited until a formal contract is established. This prevents scams, protects privacy, and ensures transparent negotiations under Upwork’s oversight.

Off-Platform Payments are Strictly Prohibited

All financial transactions must go through Upwork’s official payment systems. This ensures timely support, dispute resolution, and community-wide protection. Off-platform payments violate terms, increasing fraud risk.

Consequences of Policy Violations

Any policy violation may result in disciplinary actions, including loss of talent badges, temporary restrictions, or permanent loss of account access. This includes attempts to share contact information through various platform features such as project descriptions, profiles, messages, attachments, or other means.

Be sure to review our contact information sharing policy and help us keep Upwork safe by reporting any attempts to send payments outside Upwork. 

Need More Information?

For further clarification on our policies, visit the links below, which provide detailed information and resources for navigating our platform safely and effectively.

• The new starter's guide to being safe and successful on Upwork
• Keeping your contact information safe
• Get to know each other before a contract

We're dedicated to fostering a secure platform where freelancers and clients can connect, collaborate, and thrive. Thank you for your cooperation and being an integral part of our community.

Thank you for your help in keeping Upwork safe, 

Upwork Trust & Safety 

[#2]

Almost all clients require a NDA, within that NDA it usually asks for personal contact information, i.e. a full name, from which they could easily "Google" someone to get their information. How do we get around that? Also, some clients don't like to use Zoom within UpWork, instead they want to use Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, etc... Some clients want to use the scheduling all Calendly to schedule an interview, which exposes an email address, etc... There are many ways needed to secure an interview with a client, pre-contract, that exposes some sort of personal information. So just looking to not get penalized here, so what can we do?

[#3]

Yeah, she did not mention an important information, about the exceptions.

Maybe they wanted to not truly publicize the exceptions or something. Their mistake.

I've seen freelancers posted here they didn't get their contract as a result for being so "Upwork rule-followers" by telling their prospective client that they need to follow rules, when the client asks for email on cases that are actually covered in the exceptions.

[#4]

Fully agree. I've tried multiple times using the Zoom or the Upwork call feature when there was one, but way too often clients weren't able to join or preferred Google Meet. The corporate clients I've had always wanted to use Microsoft Teams, so it becomes additional work for them to figure it out. If it's possible Upwork should add the three big platforms and an ability for clients to integrate for calls directly.

[#5]

It's not even that hard to figure it out. All they need to do is hit the video button inside of the chat. 

[#6]

People are different, with many different reasons as well. I just wrote this a few days ago.

And, I am posting this today because on Sunday, a group of seniors (70+) asked me for directions to drive to my dad's place in a rural area. I gave them "checkpoints" in Google Maps, so they basically just needed to go through each of the checkpoints because going straight to the destination would lead them to many "bad roads." They have smartphones, and they were all pilots, so "checkpoints" should be familiar to them, right?

No, they still go straight to the destination while calling my dad all the time (which is kind of a mess), ask people on the road, etc., that makes them took the wrong turns multiple times. Luckily, they managed to share their live location so my dad could tell them to turn around each time.

Some people would simply blame them. I won't.

Upwork has the right to choose their user segments, you have yours.

[#7]

I read your other posts and it stinks that that happened. It says in the tos that after a contract is signed you can communicate how you want, but payment has to go through upwork. If they banned them for communicating on slack after the contract was in lace that really stink. 

The app is a bit frustrating and using it on the app and the computer is the best way I have found to function. I agree it could be a lot better. 

There are many different kinds of people and tech capabilities, sre, but this is how this platform works. I think the information is out there for clients because I just found a bunch related to the hiring process and no contact sharing and contracts. We too have to look for info on platform usage, but if we want to use upwork properly we can fin the how tos and it's the same for clients. Not knowing how to do something, isn't an excuse to do it wrong when a person could simply find the right process. And if the platform doesn't doesn't work for one person, there are a lot of other freelancer sites. Honestly, I think most of us are onultiple anyway somce Upwork is over saturated. 

[#8]

Agree

[#9]

.

[#10]

strongly agree with you

[#11]

That's right, I had an inconvenience on another platform where the client requested to chat on Telegram, after reaching the agreement of the work after 14 hours of work, the client did not answer the messages, the platform washed its hands, claiming that the client was blacklisted, but I wasted my time and effort, the healthiest thing is that there is complete communication and messages from both parties are allowed to be seen

[#12]

Once you have an Upwork contract in place, you can use any program you wish.

If you go outside the platform before an Upwork contract is in place, you can lose your account permanently.

[#13]

Thank you for sharing the info.

[#14]

Cant agree more!

[#15]

His comment is very true, in addition to the fact that most of many FreeLancers place their portfolios with links to their blog, social networks or web pages that by default allow you to see the profiles and therefore get data about the Site Administrator.

[#16]

I heard that Zoom calls can't be made before starting a contract. What's the deal with that?

Many times, clients don't understand that there is a Zoom call option on Upwork. They share their own Zoom link or Google Meet link.

Many people claim that Upwork accounts have been suspended for doing this. What's the actual problem?

[#17]

The "problem" is that going outside of Upwork before an Upwork contract is in place is a Terms of Service violation. If someone tries to share a link, it's your job to explain the rules, and follow them. Yes, you can lose your account permanently for breaking the rules. If they insist, report to Upwork.

[#18]

Seems finding a trustworthy client is very hard, not sure if you trust who are contacting you. I am new to this platform.
I have this guy reaching out and insisting on using skype. I sent him the invite through zoom and he did not accept. Now he is asking me to fill up some kind of application with my address and what kind of documentation I can provide for US citizen proof. I had a second invite, the client was verified. I accepted the invitation but yesterday I got an email from Upwork saying that they removed that offer. I am kind of so lost. How do you navigate?

[#19]

I fully agree with your point! I’ve had similar experiences where clients prefer different platforms like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, especially larger corporate clients who already have established tools. It can definitely be a hassle trying to coordinate or troubleshoot when one party isn’t familiar with Zoom or Upwork’s call feature.

Integrating the major platforms like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom directly into Upwork would streamline the process and make it easier for both freelancers and clients to communicate. It would not only save time but also create a more seamless experience by allowing people to use the tools they’re already comfortable with. Hopefully, Upwork considers this in the future!

[#20]

Great Question 👏

[#21]

Why this sticky post all of a sudden? Have we seen an increase in circumvention lately? 😁

And, the idea is to protect Upwork's interest, NOT to prevent scams, etc. We know how you deal with them.

[#22]

may be Skilled freelancers are moving their clients elsewhere due to a lack of job opportunities.😂

[#23]

This could be a very valid reason too

[#24]

In my experience this also protects the freelancer interest as well. The type of clients who have no problems playing by the rules, are the ones you'd enjoy working with.

[#25]

I agree but sometimes when it comes to big corporation and you get an interview by the whole team and maybe one of the 4 people is used to using Upwork they need to move the whole team to a platform or give them Upwork access, etc. In order to chat with you. It's rare to have these big corporations but ultimately I think this is what Upwork and the freelancers want because this creates long-term high-paying contracts and both sides are happy. Probably, there should be an integration with the rest of the platforms. That would be way more ideal.