Upwork · Upwork Privacy Policy · View original document ↗

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Medium severity Medium confidence Inferredfromcontext Common · 70 of 325 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

Upwork and its advertising partners use cookies and similar trackers to monitor how you use the platform and across the web, including for targeted advertising.

This analysis describes what Upwork's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

Behavioral tracking technologies can build detailed profiles of your online activity, and the data collected may be shared with advertising partners. Users in the EU have a legal right to consent to or reject non-essential cookies.

Interpretive note: The exact verbatim text could not be confirmed from the truncated document. The actual configuration and compliance of Upwork's consent management platform cannot be assessed from the policy text alone.

Recent Activity

This document changed recently

High May 1, 2026

Upwork's privacy policy previously disclosed that it complied with the U.S. Data Privacy Framework and certified adherence to its Principles regarding how it processes personal data from EU, UK, and …

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Upwork uses cookies and third-party tracking tools that monitor your browsing behavior both on and potentially off the Upwork platform for advertising and analytics purposes. EU users must be given a genuine choice to accept or reject these cookies, and you can update your preferences through Upwork's cookie settings.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Opt Out of Arbitration
    Access Upwork's cookie preference center (typically available through a 'Cookie Settings' link in the site footer) and select 'Reject All' or deselect advertising and analytics categories. California users should also look for the 'Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information' link in the footer.

How other platforms handle this

Whatnot Medium

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Services and store certain information. Tracking technologies also used are beacons, tags, and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our Services. You can instruct your browser to refuse all c...

Ideogram Medium

We and our third-party partners may use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about your use of our Services, including your browser type, pages viewed, links clicked, and the date and time of your visit.

Tabnine Medium

We use cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your interactions with our website and services. This includes information about the pages you visit, links you click, and how you navigate our site. We use this information for analytics, persona...

See all platforms with this clause type →

Monitoring

Upwork has changed this document before.

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
We and our third-party partners may use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies on our platform to collect information about your browsing activities, device, and usage of our services for purposes including analytics, advertising, and personalization.

— Excerpt from Upwork's Upwork Privacy Policy

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The ePrivacy Directive (EU Cookie Directive) and GDPR together require that non-essential cookies be set only with the user's prior, freely given, specific, and informed consent. The UK's PECR implements equivalent requirements for UK users. The FTC has issued guidance on online tracking and behavioral advertising, and the California Consumer Privacy Act/CPRA includes provisions on the sale and sharing of personal information collected through tracking technologies. The Global Privacy Control signal must be honored for California users as an opt-out mechanism under CPRA. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: High. Cookie consent compliance is one of the most actively enforced areas of EU data protection law. Consent management platforms must be configured to ensure that tracking cookies are not loaded prior to user consent and that the consent interface does not use dark patterns. Failure to comply has resulted in significant fines from EU data protection authorities. JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU/EEA users have the strongest protections and must be offered a genuine reject-all option equivalent in prominence to the accept option. California users are protected by CPRA's opt-out provisions for sharing personal information through tracking technologies. Users in other US states with comprehensive privacy laws (Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut) have similar opt-out rights. UK users are covered by PECR. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprise clients should assess whether Upwork's use of advertising cookies on pages where enterprise users interact with the platform is consistent with the enterprise's own data protection obligations. If enterprise users access Upwork through a corporate environment, the enterprise may have independent obligations regarding cookie consent. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: The consent management platform used by Upwork should be audited to confirm that: (1) consent is obtained before non-essential cookies are set; (2) withdrawal of consent is as easy as giving it; (3) the Global Privacy Control signal is honored for California users; and (4) the list of third-party cookie partners is current and disclosed.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has authority over unfair or deceptive online tracking practices and has issued guidance on behavioral advertising and cookie-based data collection.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US

Provision details

Document information
Document
Upwork Privacy Policy
Entity
Upwork
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 10, 2026
Last verified
May 10, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-009827
Document ID
CA-D-00142
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
ef83ddf58f654cc82f83982d55b3609f4bcd07d93da04e1f8cd0b3188ea88c71
Analysis generated
May 10, 2026 23:05 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Upwork
Document: Upwork Privacy Policy
Record ID: CA-P-009827
Captured: 2026-05-10 23:05:47 UTC
SHA-256: ef83ddf58f654cc8…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/upwork/upwork-privacy-policy/cookies-and-tracking-technologies/
Accessed: May 13, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

Other risks in this policy

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Upwork's Cookies and Tracking Technologies clause do?

Behavioral tracking technologies can build detailed profiles of your online activity, and the data collected may be shared with advertising partners. Users in the EU have a legal right to consent to or reject non-essential cookies.

How does this clause affect you?

Upwork uses cookies and third-party tracking tools that monitor your browsing behavior both on and potentially off the Upwork platform for advertising and analytics purposes. EU users must be given a genuine choice to accept or reject these cookies, and you can update your preferences through Upwork's cookie settings.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 70 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Upwork?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Upwork.