The Do-Not List: What to Avoid on Upwork
Main things to avoid on Upwork
- Don’t bypass the platform.
You can't send or receive money outside of Upwork, nor exchange contact information or communicate off Upwork until a contract is in place.
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Remember, if you need to prove something later, only what's on Upwork will matter; screenshots from other apps won't hold weight.
- Don’t create duplicate accounts.
Upwork is against duplicate accounts.
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But if you're curious if it's technically possible, yes, it is—because to Upwork, "Andrew," "Andrii," "Andrey," and "Andriy" are different names.
- Don’t use the site if you’re in a restricted region.
I had an acquaintance who went to Crimea and got blocked.
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I didn't like her so no tears
- Don’t misrepresent yourself.
Upwork doesn’t let you act as a developer if you’re just selling developers. But then how else will you sell? Consider writing "development" (like you’re selling development services) or always add "PM" at the end to avoid wasting space on key terms.
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PM or Development or Design services add-on will save your life
- Don’t promote or involve fraud or scams.
This seems obvious, right? But if you report a scammer, they could still report you back, and you both might end up blocked as scammers. Be careful with reports too.
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Scammers could report you back
- Don’t scrape unauthorized information.
This is a new and interesting rule. Upwork is mainly saying you can’t scrape data from Upwork itself.
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Never say you use tools for Upwork to Upwork. Tools are allowed but scrapping - no so you will be on a hook
- Don’t share confidential information without consent.
You can’t share or request sensitive personal info unless you have legal reasons. NDAs are allowed, but now it’s unclear how to sign them before a contract since you can’t share contact info. - Don’t involve gambling or betting.
It’s banned on the platform. Be careful with bidding on casino-related jobs. - Don’t use deceptive marketing tactics.
Creating fake social media followers or writing fake product reviews is prohibited. They introduced this to stop fake reviews on Upwork. But do they know about such reviews? Of course. It’s in their interest, but they keep you on the hook with this rule. Stay alert.
- Don’t advertise other freelance platforms.
They used to allow Behance and similar sites, but now they call it a competitor. It’s better to share your portfolio with links to your Upwork profile.
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Use portfolio on Upwork instead of external ones nowadays
- Don’t share or request personal contact information.
Upwork recently banned my client for sharing a YouTube link. Don’t share anything with an "@" symbol. Right now, be extra careful about this. And of course NO to calendly, hubspot links etc.
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Forget @
- Don’t be rude in communication.
Upwork notices words like "f*cking." Don’t use them. - Don’t try to take clients off Upwork.
At least get a contract on the platform first, then discuss it later. Don’t do this right away. Upwork has a way to take clients off the platform, described here.
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True story: you can legally take clients from Upwork after 2 years (read above)
- Don’t pile up too much negative feedback.
After two negative feedbacks in a row, you could get banned.
What should I write about next? Please send an idea (it's anonymous) https://forms.gle/X9AXsZbbXeqyEg8C6
Hugs,
Tamara
