"Upwork presents a **high-risk privacy profile** (73/100) comparable to Google/Microsoft due to extensive data collection including biometric identifiers, work diary screenshots capturing confidential information, and behavioral tracking combined with broad third-party sharing to payment processors, AI training providers, advertising networks, and unnamed service providers. Users face critical restrictions on legal remedies through mandatory arbitration and class action waivers, automatic payment approval within narrow dispute windows, and indefinite data retention, while controls are limited to opt-out mechanisms for ads that still result in ad serving and high financial penalties ($10K+) for using alternatives to the platform."
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4 Privacy Improvements Available
upwork Privacy Concerns & Scorecard
Upwork disclaims liability for data handling and limits liability to fees paid in preceding 12 months ($2,500 cap in many cases), preventing meaningful recovery for data breaches or privacy violations.
Non-circumvention clause restricts user choice and imposes $1,000-$50,000 penalties to exit agreements early. Users cannot directly pay freelancers for 24 months after engagement without paying conversion fees.
Upwork shares user content, work product, and personal information with AI training providers without explicit opt-in consent. User content may be used by third parties for AI model training purposes with perpetual license granted.
Work Diary screenshots are automatically collected and transmitted to Upwork servers, potentially capturing sensitive client information, trade secrets, and personal data unrelated to work scope. Screenshots include all content visible on screen including taskbars and system trays.
User-posted content and work product are retained permanently through irrevocable, non-exclusive worldwide licenses granted to Upwork and its affiliates with no specified deletion mechanism.
Do Not Track browser signals are explicitly not honored. Users must affirmatively opt out through multiple separate mechanisms (GPC, DAA, email, phone) with no opt-out per browser or device.
Upwork utilizes third-party tracking technologies for targeted advertising, which can lead to user profiling without explicit consent.
Data deletion
- 1Navigate to Upwork's GDPR Compliance help article.
- 2Follow the instructions to submit a data deletion or account closure request.
Ai training opt out
- 1Log in to your Upwork account and click your profile picture in the top-right corner, then select Settings from the dropdown.
- 2In the left sidebar, click Privacy Settings, then navigate to the AI Preferences section.
- 3Toggle off all three data categories: Communications Data, Work Product Data, and Other Platform Data.
- 4Save your changes.
Marketing email opt out
- 1Log in to your Upwork account.
- 2Go to your Notification Settings (via account settings).
- 3Select the Messages tab or relevant notification category.
- 4Adjust the email notification toggle to opt out of marketing or promotional messages and save your preferences.
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Data Collection & Tracking
Personal Information Collected
Account creation, identity verification, profile management, communication, age verification, payment processing
Tax compliance, worker classification, age verification, identity verification, payment processing
Payment processing, fee collection, tax reporting, fraud detection, payment method verification
Marketplace functionality, dispute resolution, payment processing, AI training (with irrevocable perpetual license), work verification, skill matching
Service delivery, tax compliance, geographic restrictions, payment routing, targeted advertising, fraud prevention
Customer service, account security, identity verification, promotional content (with limited consent mechanism)
Payment verification, work tracking, work protection, productivity monitoring, fraud detection
Algorithmic matching, AI training, service improvement, targeted advertising, user engagement tracking, platform analytics
Communication facilitation, customer support, dispute resolution, legal compliance, safety monitoring
Service functionality, security, debugging, platform optimization, targeted advertising
Freelancer engagement, communication, authorization and verification
Compliance with employment laws, wage garnishment processing, worker classification, legal obligations
Work delivery, payment processing, dispute resolution, legal obligations
Identity verification, fraud prevention, credit/risk assessment, background screening
Marketing attribution, referral program administration, conversion tracking
AI service delivery, algorithm training, product improvement, evaluation of AI systems
Cross-Platform Tracking
Upwork tracks users across the internet through third-party tracking pixels, cookies, and web beacons placed on external websites and mobile apps. Hashed personal information is shared with advertising partners to enable retargeting and cross-site behavioral advertising, allowing Upwork to display ads about its services on other websites users visit. Users may see Upwork advertisements elsewhere on the internet after visiting the platform, indicating cross-platform behavioral tracking and retargeting are enabled.
Tracking Methods:
Cookies
First-party and third-party cookies track user activity, preferences, and advertising engagement. Persistent cookies remain until expiration or deletion; session cookies expire when browsing ends
Web Beacons & Pixels
Transparent tracking pixels and web beacons embedded in pages and emails track user movement across sites and enable cross-site ad targeting by advertising partners
Embedded Scripts & Tags
JavaScript tracking tags and embedded third-party scripts collect behavioral data, measure campaign effectiveness, and enable retargeting across the internet
Device Fingerprinting & Identifiers
Unique device identifiers, user-agent strings, and device characteristics enable tracking across sessions and potentially across applications
Work Diary Screenshots
Periodic automatic screenshots of screen content transmitted to Upwork servers for work verification and activity monitoring
Direct Data Collection
Information voluntarily provided by users in forms, profile settings, work diary submissions, and direct account registration
Third-Party Tracking Technologies
Service providers including analytics companies, advertising partners, and generative AI platforms deploy their own tracking technologies (cookies, pixels, scripts) to collect user data independently
AI & Data Training
upwork uses your content to train AI
Below is what's used and how (if at all) you can object.
What Content Is Used
User Profiles
Freelancer and client profile information including skills, qualifications, work history, rates, and portfolio data
Work Product & Deliverables
All completed work, deliverables, source code, documents, designs, and other project outputs submitted by users
Proposals
Job proposals and pitch content submitted by freelancers
Feedback & Reviews
User feedback, reviews, ratings, and suggestions submitted on the platform
Job Posts
Job descriptions, project details, and requirements posted by clients
Communications
Messages and communications between users conducted through Upwork Messages
User-Generated Content
Text, images, video, audio, and other content posted by users on the platform
How to Object
You can submit an objection using the steps below.
- 1
Go to Account Settings > Privacy settings and look for AI training or generative AI option. Toggle OFF if available. If not visible, email privacyrequests@upwork.com requesting to opt out of AI training. Note: Opt-out may only prevent future training, not use of data already collected.
Why We Analyzed upwork
TrueTerms automatically audits privacy policies and data practices using advanced machine learning to keep you informed and protected. This scorecard is based on the latest available public terms of service and privacy policies as of 2026.