How To Use Upwork Messages To Collaborate More Effectively in 2026

Upwork Messages lets you chat, share files, make video calls, schedule meetings, and manage project details with clients or freelancers — all within the Upwork platform. Keeping communication in one place makes it easier to collaborate and stay aligned throughout a project.

What to know about Upwork Messages

• Manage your entire project from your message room, including files, contracts, payments, and milestones.
• Start Zoom calls or Upwork video meetings, and record Loom videos from supported desktop browsers.
• Schedule meetings, sync Google or Outlook calendars, and access contract details from your message room.
• Use AI-powered features like meeting summaries, transcripts, and smart reply suggestions to save time and stay focused.

Good communication and easy access to critical details can make all the difference in a project’s success for clients and freelancers. Upwork Messages gives you the tools and advanced AI-powered features to collaborate safely and securely, stay on track with projects, and build strong working relationships.

Every new connection starts in Upwork Messages

You can use messaging to connect from anywhere, collaborate on project details, and keep contract-related communication organized. Messaging supports these two phases:

1. The prehire phase as you get to know and consider the freelancer or client
2. The post-hire phase as you manage the contract and keep work on track

A new message room is created as soon as a connection is made on Upwork — whether that's a proposal for a job post or a direct message from another member. All conversations and contract offers happen in the same room, so everything about a project stays in one place. If you work with the same person on more than one project, each new project gets its own message room.

Access Upwork Messages from multiple devices

You can access Upwork Messages from the desktop app, Upwork mobile apps, or directly within a contract workroom from your browser. Each project on Upwork gets its own message room, so all communication and files stay organized in one place.

Messages on desktop or web

One of the most popular ways to access messages is directly within a contract workroom on the web using Chrome, Edge, or Firefox and other browsers. You’ll find a link to “Messages” in the navigation at the top of the page. 

You can also download the Upwork desktop app, which gives you the same messaging features along with built-in tools for Loom recordings and screenshots. Some features, like screen capture and Loom, are only available through desktop.

Messages on mobile

The Upwork mobile app is available on Android and iOS and gives you access to your messages from anywhere. With the mobile app, you can:

• Draft and save messages for later
• Format messages with bold, italics, strikethrough, and code blocks
• Reply quickly using AI-generated prompts
• Reply directly to a previous message, even if it isn't the most recent in the thread

Tips for using Upwork Messages on mobile

How to use Upwork Messages to get your project started

Upwork Messages helps you move through each stage of a new project with confidence, from proposal to contract start. The experience is different depending on whether you’re a freelancer or a client. 

We’ve mapped out the critical stages below showing how both paths track progress and illustrating what the next steps will be.

On the left is the freelancer’s journey to start a new project. On the right, you can see the client’s view.

For freelancers

As a freelancer, your message room will walk you through each step after you submit a proposal:

• Proposal submitted
• Offer made
• Offer accepted (review and accept the contract)
• Contract start

For clients

As a client, your message room guides you through the hiring process after receiving a proposal:

• Proposal received
• Project alignment (connect with the freelancer and agree on scope, deliverables, timelines, and expectations)
• Send offer
• Contract acceptance
• Contract start

Once your contract is active, your messaging room becomes a hub for everything related to the project.

A client’s view of the message room

Access full project details in your messaging room

Your Upwork message room includes all the details about a contract — project information, activity, and actions — in one place. This means you don't have to flip back and forth between screens or browsers when collaborating.

From your message room, you can review contract information like:

• The original job post, proposal, and contract terms and conditions
• Payment history and invoices for that contract
• Work diary and timesheets for hourly projects
• The project to-do list for hourly projects
• Completed work and milestones for fixed-price projects

You can also:

• Search messages for keywords
• See a list of collaborators and contact them individually
• Review files and links that have been shared
• Use shortcuts as a client to quickly hire, or rehire, freelancers

The message room is contextual, with different parameters for hourly versus fixed-price projects and a slightly different view for clients and freelancers.

How to use messages to collaborate

Upwork Messages gives you several ways to collaborate with clients and freelancers beyond text. You can share files, make video calls, record your screen, and capture screenshots — all without leaving the platform.

Share messages and project-related files

Upwork Messages is a way for you to securely share text, files, and links in real time or asynchronously. Messaging automatically saves everything so you can find it later.

Aside from sharing text, files, and links, you can also add attachments via Dropbox (web only).

Schedule meetings and sync calendars

Real-time meetings are an important part of good working relationships, but fitting a meeting into everyone’s schedule can be a challenge — especially across different time zones. You can use the built-in scheduling tool to share your availability with project collaborators and automatically update your calendar when changes are made. You can also add blocked-out dates and see a preview of your calendar. 

Freelancers also have the option to turn on direct meeting scheduling, which lets clients directly select an available meeting time without the back-and-forth.

Make voice and video calls

You can make voice and video calls directly from your message room to streamline collaboration. Upwork’s built-in video meetings, powered by Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI, can be scheduled or started directly in messages. Features include:

• Video, audio, and background blur
• AI-driven recording and recaps
• AI-generated highlights, summaries, and transcripts (stored for six months)

With Upwork’s Zoom integration, you can make voice or video calls anytime, directly from the messaging platform — even without an existing Zoom account. Zoom recordings are available for seven days and don’t include chat functionality or meeting summaries.

Share video and screen recordings

With Loom, available through the desktop app, you can easily create and share video and screen recordings in your messages room. Features like voice-over and camera bubble can help add clarity to your communication.

Loom is free to use and doesn’t require an account to get started. However, you’ll be able to make more recordings and get additional features if you sign up for a free or paid account.

Capture screenshots easily

A screenshot can help clarify a complex explanation, improve accuracy, or provide a visual point of reference. The messaging platform has a built-in tool that lets you capture and annotate screenshots so you can drop images into a message thread without flipping between software. (Desktop app only.)

How to use Upwork Messages to stay organized

Upwork Messages include a few features to help you stay on top of your work. You can keep private notes within any conversation and customize which notifications you receive.

Add your own private notes

Keep private notes — visible only to you — in a personal notepad you can find within any conversation. There are a lot of ways to use your private notes, from capturing ideas, to recording your observations during an interview, to making short to-do lists for yourself. Any notes you add will automatically be saved to that specific message room so you can find them later.

Customize your notifications

Upwork will automatically send you notifications for activities such as new messages, direct mentions, payments, or contract adjustments. These alerts make it convenient for you to respond quickly. However, you can also customize the notifications you receive from the desktop app, mobile app, and email alerts.

How Upwork Messages keeps you safe

A new connection on Upwork is full of potential. But there’s also a risk, especially while you establish rapport but don’t yet have the protections offered by a formal contract. 

Keeping your communication on Upwork means you benefit from built-in protections you’d lose if conversations move off-platform. By staying in messaging, Upwork's trust, safety, and security program can better track, verify, and help resolve issues if they come up, including dispute resolution. Your message history also serves as trusted documentation if you ever need to enter arbitration.

You also benefit from built-in security controls, including data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and malware and spam protections that scan attachments before you download them. It’s important to note that exchanging contact information before a contract is in place is against Upwork's Terms of Service, as is moving payments off Upwork.

Collaborate on projects with confidence

When you’re ready to start your next project, Upwork Messages will be there to help you stay organized and collaborate safely from Day 1. Log in to your account or create an account to start collaborating.

FAQs about using Upwork Messages to collaborate

Whether you're new to Upwork or have been using the platform for a while, questions about using Upwork Messages for collaboration come up. Here are answers to some of the most common ones.

How does Upwork keep my messages secure?

Upwork uses data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and malware scanning on attachments to help protect your messages and files. The platform also meets privacy and security standards including GDPR and CCPA. Keeping your communication on Upwork means you benefit from these protections automatically.

Can people message you on Upwork?

Yes. Clients can message freelancers when they submit a proposal, receive a job invite, or start a contract. A new message room is created automatically when a connection is made, such as a proposal submitted for a job post or a direct message from another member on Upwork.

How do I message someone on Upwork?

To message someone on Upwork, go to "Messages" in the top navigation on the desktop or open the Upwork mobile app. If you're a client, you can message a freelancer from their profile or search results. If you're a freelancer, you can message a client after submitting a proposal or receiving a job invite.

How do I see messages on Upwork?

Go to "Messages" on the Upwork website, and you'll see all of your message rooms organized by project. Each room contains your full conversation history, shared files, and contract details for that project.

Can I edit or delete a message on Upwork?

Yes. You can edit or delete a message within one hour of sending it. After one hour, messages can no longer be edited or deleted.

Can freelancers message clients before a contract?

Messaging on Upwork is permission-based. Freelancers can message a client after submitting a proposal, responding to a job invite, or being contacted by the client directly. Sharing contact or payment information before a contract is in place is against Upwork's Terms of Service.

What happened to the prehire workroom?

Based on feedback from users like you, we streamlined this process to include direct hire offers in the same message room as the existing prehire conversations. This reduces duplicate threads and makes it easier for freelancers and clients to access contract information in one place.