Important Reminder: Policy on Sharing Contact Information

[BharathiM]

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 

[e5da4fa4]

Dear,

I just got a message (in Upwork message room) from Upwork.com entitled

"The Upwork Trust and Safety Team Important Reminder: Policy on Sharing Contact Information".

I believe that I have never shared any contact information with my clients or potential clients.

I write this message because I need to know what I shall do to affirm that I have never shared any contact information on the Upwork platform. Surely, the Upwork team can assess my message room to see that I never shared any contact information.

[swayam1989]

I believe everybody have received this message. This might be a general message Upwork is sending. 

[the-right-writer]

You can relax, everyone received the message. Unfortunately, there are a significant number of freelancers that don't read or follow the rules. The message was sent to everyone, and doesn't mean Upwork thinks you did anything wrong. Everything is OK.

[2d0b53d4]

As a social media designer, most of the time, clients message me directly in Upwork chat and sends me their social media handle/s. Sometimes its a google drive link - still has their contact. 

After receiving a sticky message in upwork multiple times, I'm now paranoid of replying to these clients who share their social media as upwork might take it as asking for their contacts. I love working in Upwork and don't want to get banned. Any advice?

[27e31d28]

Hello, I need to clarify some points here.
I recently applied for a couple of jobs when I tried inserting this link : **Edited for Community Guidelines**
Which is my porfolio website. I upload the links to all the projects I build, certifications I gain, and all the experiences I've gained outside upwork which might prove a deciding factor making me a perfect fit for the job.

The Problem,
when I did this, I started getting the message that you mentioned above. Due to upload restriction that upwork puts on a profile ,you cannot upload everything you've worked in your domain inside your upwork profile. 
So, I think portfolio website integration on the profile itself should be a positive and lasting impact on the one's upwork profile.

Eager to know your thoughts on this
Cheers!

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

[calvo_juan]

I received a message from The Upwork Trust and Safety Team, which states:

"→ Pre-Contract Communication: Upwork strictly prohibits sharing personal contact info (phone numbers, email addresses, social media handles) before finalizing a contract."

I would appreciate if there was more clarity with regards to this point. To my understanding, a freelancer could share links or email as part of the interview process, as long as payments were processed through Upwork. Reading the current terms of service it seems now any type of communication outside Upwork is forbidden. But in the message I received, external communications are allowed only when the contract is "finalized".  Which one is it?

[wlyonsatl]

Pre-contract, keep your communications on Upwork's message system (other than in the exceptions noted above).

After an Upwork contract is in place, communicate however you and the client agree best meets your needs.

[researchediting]

Your understanding is correct, as freelancer Clark S confirmed earlier with a link to Upwork's policy. 

This has also been confirmed by moderator @LuiggiR in a related thread.

[da2dbfa0]

Hi how are you 

[duplessise]

I've been on Upwork a long time now and have had 0 jobs because I'll go on and apply to a bunch of jobs, and every company that responds wants me to contact them outside of Upwork in some way, then I get discouraged and give up for a while, come back and try again and the same thing happens. Sometimes it seems like an obvious scam, sometimes it seems legit life one today asking me to meet with them on Microsoft Teams. I'm trying to play by the rules but if I'm not going to get any jobs that way and the options are 1. Break the rules and probably get work, with a small chance I'd be kicked off of Upwork l, or 2. Stop using Upwork and get nothing... ??

[spectralua]

Did you saw many newbies who contacted telegram was banned? I saw none, all them still here. Look like chances be kicked off equal to zero a while you continue pay for connects.

[crart]

Oh please 😂 Someone tried to get to UW's questionable "business practices"? Just stop pretending already and instead of repeating what serious people already know, maybe try to actually make this place "safe and trustworthy" because as it is now, safety and trust don't even stand close to UW. Scammers running unchecked, casino techniques all over the place, valuable freelancers pushed to the bottom in favor of new blood that can be easily manipulated, how long until we are required to pay real money to log in (not even joking now), this platform went even lower than Microsoft that recently fired thousands of people to "restructurize" 🤣

[wlyonsatl]

Bharathi .,

Was this same information/warning broadcast to all clients, as well as freelancers?

[62a3be86]

Hi, I have a client from US, We are working on a long term contact, means he keeps on adding milestones to the contract for the jobs. He needs a logo and for that he needs to connect me to his team members. He asked me for my WhatsApp. I refused. But his team, they either have email or WhatsApp. He is a long term client so I do want to make things easy for him. 

Our current milestone is active and we have a couple more in line. 

So, as long as he keeps all the contacts and official work on Upwork, I can share my number to connect with his team in a group?

Looking forward to your response at your earliest convenience.

Regards,

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

**Edited for Community Guidelines**

  

[wlyonsatl]

Communicate with a client any way you wish once there is an Upwork contract in place.

After that, the important thing is that all payments between you and client must be done via Upwork's payment systems.

[133b6320]

Hi, I got a notification from one of the job poster, and he attached a pdf on how I should contact the HR manager for online interview with their personal email address. Is this a scam? 

Thanks

**Edited for community guidelines**

[dataextract]

Certainly it is a scam.

Even if it is not, it is against ToS of Upwork to contact them outside Upwork. Report that job post to get your connects back (if you have spent any), after getting that job listing removed. 

[williamtcooper]

Scam and against the rules.

[researchediting]

"HR manager," "hiring manager," "our CEO," and the like are virtually always red flags for a scam, or at best a wannapreneur "business," either of which is using barely paid freelancers to inflate their legitimacy or importance. Run far, run fast.

[bilal1983]

Upwork Team, I received a private message from UW with the title: Important Reminder: Policy on Sharing Contact Information, and then some guidelines and rules to follow.

Has there been a breach of ToS on my part? If so, please point out what action was flagged as against policy.

If not, why is this general info being sent on a private message?

[spectralua]

Because most of users ignoring general info.

[bilal1983]

I'm sure these "most" users you speak of are new on the platform? So why not send the message to them? Why send it to me, who has been actively working every week for the past 2 years. I know these guidelines, and I don't need to be told.

[spectralua]

Yep, newbies who clicked under ToS agreement "I read, understand and agree" then creating topic "I contacted Upwork via telegram, paid security fee and want my $3000 right now!".

[the-right-writer]

Because even freelancers who have been here for years, and had many clients, don't always know or follow the Terms. Read through the forum, and you will find experienced freelancers whining because Upwork didn't save them after they broke the rules.

Wile you may not need to be told, the majority of the freelancers do.

[bilal1983]

I've seen those complaining freelancers, and most need to blame themselves. But IMO, it still doesn't necessitate sending out policies in private messages. A platform user needs to be aware, and then take responsibility for their actions.

I see things as, there are rules and laws in many domains (countries, companies, online platforms), and those who join or enter must be aware. If they break the rules, they should be punished, and be responsible. Strict punishments are the best deterrent. We may debate whether they are good/bad, just as an example: publicly carried out capital punishment is the best deterrent against crimes. Private reminders to all citizens including law-abiding ones, that they should follow the laws, or face "consequences" if not followed isn't the best way.

So what I think should happen in UW, is to devise a system that catches those who are breaking the rules, and take strict action. Immediate permanent ban of account, and make it public. A list of banned people and their faces needs to be posted and pinned on the forum daily.

[the-right-writer]

While public shaming won't happen, Upwork needs to enforce their TOS, and when freelancers go merrily off the platform, they should be suspended for a time or kicked out. However, Upwork will not do that, as we have seen repeatedly..

[crart]

Can you imagine the outrage? We live in times when everyone "has the right to privacy" (yet Google spies in our pants freely), people are oversensitive and have "omg you looked at me wrong I'll sue you!" mentality, nothing like you propose would pass. Not that I don't agree. I always thought good old punishments were the best: cutting hand of the thief, hanging murderer and stuff like that. All done publicly. And especially in these absolutely dreadful times when criminals are on top of the food chain (yes, I mean corpos and politicians), it should be important to keep them in check, alas people are too dumb and tech-dependent to even think about rebel. And justice, for that matter.
Also, as I was informed by some people I contacted in EU law enforcement and human rights insititutions regarding Upwork's casino and mobbing techniques, Upwork should ban and punish itself if they were to abide rules they have in place. Fun times.

[dqr79]

Upwork: "...This includes attempts to share contact information through various platform features such as project descriptions, profiles, messages, attachments, or other means."

Also Upwork: "Freelancers might include contact information directly in their portfolios. It's still okay to share, just remember to keep all pre-contract communications on Upwork."

Good job communicating policies that can possibly get one banned if broken... 

[3c195dd6]

Hiii Mam my name is mursaleen malik mam first of all before doing upwork let us check the loss of our company how much loss or profit our company has made or what work is done to our company.are employing  

[masudpervez43]

Thank you for the important reminder. I have a concern regarding job applications on Upwork: often, after applying, we find that the job has been removed. This is time-consuming for us. Please consider improving this aspect of the platform.

[jendubois]

This policy is so impractical. For starters, does Upwork every hold its clients/employers responsible for asking/requesting contact outside of Upwork before a contract starts? Surely it is aware of the hundreds of outside information shared in job posts.  Why does it let clients insist on using a Google Meets, Teams or other corporate email comms to conduct interviews or share pre-hire info via personal email and not enforce the TOS? You leave it to the freelancers to risk losing an opportunity by insisting they stay on the platform when they are still in the fragile hiring phase. And when there are multiple client team members involved in hiring, do you really think they must all use Upwork to engage with multiple interviewees? Is that practical? It seems unfair to put the burden on freelancers of adhering to the TOS, you should enforce on the client side as THEY are the ones typically instigating going outside of Upwork due to workflow preferences. In my experience it is ALWAYS a matter of preference and not circumventing the hiring process on Upwork.  Some clients simply don't like having to hop into the Upwork app until it's a "done deal". Surely Upwork can come up with some more flexible solutions, starting with focusing on client enforcement, not freelancers, so that we don't have to explain awkwardly that we can't do a Google meet interview. Meanwhile the next freelancer who is willing to break the TOS and doesn't get caught gets the job. Insisting on using Zoom only is impractical and it doesn't help that the scheduling interface is terribly confusing to clients.  If you are going to enforce these TOS standards, then offer a practical more flexible solution for freelancers and enforce it on the client side.

[ea0165db]

Hi everyone! I have a contract with my client on Upwork! He send me his client's details and I have to place them on pdf form. But Today when he send me the his clients detailes to like name , phone no, adress etc upwork have shown the notification attached below. Can any one can help Why is that so?? even I have running my per-hour**Edited for Community Guidelines** contract with him on Upwork!

[36e53cb2]

Hi Bharathi, thanks for the reminder! Quick question -- I just started with a new client. He sent me the contract and asked for my email to send some relevant docs, but I accidentally sent him my email in a message before clicking "Accept" on the contract. Upwork flagged my message for "a potential risk" and I realized what had happened and accepted the contract right away. Is this going to cause any problems with my Upwork account or my ability to message this client? 

[spectralua]

No if contract will be started and paid.

[ngoirijoy]

Hi Bharathi, I accidentally billed more for a client and ended the contract. How do I redo the billing?

[celgins]

You should post this message in the Support Forum and a moderator can assist.

This thread is an Upwork announcment, so Bharathi is unlikely to respond here.

[98504974]

Hello.
I am new to upwork, I have not even made a withdrawal yet and I only have 1 completed contract. (I've only spent money so far, not made any money.)  Frankly speaking, I used to treat freelancing more like a hobby (and extra income), but recently I decided to get serious about it and maybe even open an agency in the future (if everything goes well). Today while reading a post I came across a rule that says you can't make a deal without upwork. (Off-Platform Payments are Strictly Prohibited and etc) I have NEVER RECEIVED any payments outside of upwork but I admit that because of my unawareness of the rules I have offered a couple of times to pay a client via upwork or any other convenient way for him. (I thought it was legal and that's what they charge for job adverts and working through upwork is an optional safety)
Fortunately, none of these contracts reached the final point (my offer was not even read). Technically I never broke the rules but as far as I understand my offer can also be evaluated as a violation. Naturally from now on I will never offer such conditions. The question is this:
1 Can I be banned under the circumstances that I described above? Or will Upwork not ban me ? (because it seems to me it's more of a misunderstanding than a clear violation)

PS If the guys from upwork are reading this, please reply. If you do ban me for this kind of thing,  please ban me now so I don't waste time and effort on promoting my profile.😅

Thanks in advance.

[spectralua]

1 Yes. But your violation may be ignored. Your account still alive so dont worry. Follow rules in future.

[98504974]

Thank you for your reply

[vidja]

So what about contracts you did not get, but the client meets the freelancer, just because you stumble upon them at a conference 

in some worlds there áre only 10-20 people across the globe who know what they are talking about, despite the 50 or so proposals on the job