4 min read
Why Upwork asks for a phone number
Upwork asks for a phone number to confirm you’re a real person, to protect payouts or documents, and to unlock some features. The code arrives by SMS.
Can you skip the phone on Upwork?
Most work platforms start with an email; the phone step comes at sign-up or before the first payout.
Your options without a SIM card
Work platforms often refuse VoIP numbers. A public SMS site is a bad idea for any account tied to clients or money.
- Email or Google/Apple sign-in, when the app allows it. Free, and no number at all.
- A second SIM or eSIM. Costs a monthly plan, but the number stays yours.
- A private temporary number from CoveSMS. Only you see the code, and you pay nothing if it doesn’t arrive within 20 minutes.
Step by step: get the Upwork code online
- Buy a Upwork number in your dashboard.
- Choose the country and paste the number.
- Ask for the code.
- Enter the code from your dashboard.
If the code doesn’t arrive
- If the number is refused, cancel for your balance back and try another country.
- Match the number’s country to your account’s country when possible.
- No code within 20 minutes means the number closes and the price goes back to your balance.
After you’re in: stop depending on the number
A temporary number is single-use. Set up another way in before it closes:
- Turn on an authenticator app for Upwork.
- For anything tied to payouts, move the account to a number you keep long term.