Upwork

Is Upwork safe?

Upwork is one of the safer places to find freelance work, provided you keep everything on the platform. It offers proper two-step login, pays outside researchers to find flaws, holds client money in a licensed escrow, and has no known breach. The danger is the people posing as clients, who use Upwork to make first contact and then try to move freelancers somewhere without protection.

We score it 56/100, ahead of Fiverr (50) and LinkedIn (48), and just behind Indeed (57). Upwork loses most of its points on privacy: its iPhone app tracks usage for ads, and its terms let it train AI on your work unless you opt out.

How fake-client scams work

The Federal Trade Commission says Americans reported losing $501 million to job and employment agency scams in 2024, up from $90 million in 2020, with reports tripling over the same period. That figure covers every channel, but freelance marketplaces are an obvious hunting ground, because users expect strangers to offer them paid work.

The patterns Upwork itself warns about are the classic ones: a job post with unusually high pay and a vague description; a "test" that asks for significant unpaid work; and a client who wants to talk on WhatsApp or Telegram, or to pay outside Upwork, before any contract exists. Upwork's rules ban both off-platform contact before a contract and off-platform payment, and it asks users to report clients who push for either. Its scam FAQ adds clients who ask for personal information up front, charge for "credentials", or want you to buy equipment from their own "recommended" provider. Upwork says it cannot help recover money paid outside the platform, on Telegram, Skype or WhatsApp.

Freelancers also pay to apply. Submitting proposals costs Connects, virtual tokens bought in the app, so a fake job post can cost real money in wasted bids as well as time.

Upwork's terms set a minimum age of 18. The App Store rates the app 4+.

When does Upwork's payment protection apply?

Upwork's protection is real but narrower than many users assume. On fixed-price contracts, the client deposits money for each milestone before work starts, and it is released after approval, or automatically 14 days after submission if the client does nothing. On hourly contracts, you are covered only if you log time with the Upwork desktop app, add memos to your work diary, stay within the weekly limit, have verified your identity, and work for a client with a verified billing method. Manual time and bonuses are not covered.

The escrow itself is run by Payment Escrow Inc., formerly Upwork Escrow Inc., which holds California licence No. 963 5086 as an internet escrow agent. Payments arranged in chat outside Upwork have none of these protections.

What Upwork does with your data

Apple's privacy label lists usage data as "Data Used to Track You", for third-party advertising. Location, contacts, contact details, financial information and user content are linked to your identity. On Android, Google Play's data safety section says Upwork shares no data with other companies, which does not match the iPhone label or the privacy policy. The policy, effective 30 April 2026, says Upwork does not sell data for money but does "share" it for cross-context advertising under California law; you can opt out through "Your Privacy Choices", and Upwork honours the Global Privacy Control browser signal.

Three things go further than on a typical job board:

• Identity data. Upwork may collect your date of birth, Social Security or tax number, driver's licence or passport, and immigration status to verify who and where you are.
• Work diaries. On hourly contracts, the desktop tracker takes regular screenshots, counts mouse clicks and keystrokes, and can include a webcam photo if you enable it. Clients see all of it.
• AI training. Section 2.4 of the terms says that, unless you opt out on the site, you grant Upwork an "irrevocable, perpetual" licence to use content you send or receive, including job posts, proposals, messages and work product, to train AI models that personalise your experience.

How to use Upwork safely

1. Turn on two-step verificationTwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary with an authenticator app or the Upwork app prompt, not only SMS.
2. Never move to WhatsApp, Telegram or email, or accept payment outside Upwork, before a contract exists.
3. Start fixed-price work only after the milestone shows as funded.
4. For hourly work, use the desktop tracker and write memos, or you lose payment protection.
5. Refuse unpaid tests, fees for "credentials" and any request to buy equipment from a client's chosen supplier.
6. Opt out of AI training and ad sharing in your settings if you do not want either.

How we scored it

Regulatory record (87) is Upwork's highest factor: we found no fine or order, though no large regulator has examined it closely. Security (65) reflects authenticator-app 2FATwo-factor authenticationSigning in with a second proof of identity on top of your password, such as a code from an app, a security key or a passkey.More in the glossary, a paid bug bounty since 2018 and no known breach. Privacy (40) is the lowest, because of ad tracking on iPhone, identity data, screenshot-based work diaries and AI training by default. Scams and harmful content (48) reflects fake clients and protection that depends on following Upwork's rules exactly.