How verification works

Verification here is one thing, checked by one person, and it is the whole of our trust claim. We say "verified" and we mean the identity check. Nobody on this platform is described as pre-screened or approved for quality, because we do not assess anybody's work.

What a reviewer does

A freelancer uploads a photograph of a government ID and a photograph of themselves holding it. Somebody on our side opens both and answers one question: is this the person this profile says it is. They approve it or they turn it down, and a turned-down submission is told why, so it can be done again properly.

What happens when it passes

• The profile carries a verified mark, and the words next to it, on the profile

itself.

• The freelancer's name, date of birth and gender lock. Nothing else does:

a photo, an address, a phone number and everything about the work stay editable for ever. The lock exists so that a verified name cannot be changed after it was verified, which is why it happens at the review rather than at publication.

• Job details, pay and client identity become readable, messaging opens, and

applying becomes possible. Read what verification unlocks.

What it does not mean

It is not a skill assessment. It says nothing about how good somebody is, how fast they reply, or whether they will suit your work. Skills, tools and industries are self-rated, and the profile says so on the page. A tool certification is the only thing here that is assessed rather than claimed, and it covers one tool at a time.

It is also not a background check or a credit check. We look at an identity document; we do not search for anything about the person behind it.

Why it is a human

An automated check answers "does this look like a real document". A person answers "is this the same face, and does this document belong to it", and can turn down the cases an automated check waves through. At this scale a person is also fast enough. If that stops being true we will say so here rather than quietly changing what the mark means.

What happens to the documents

The photographs are kept only as long as the decision needs them and are then deleted; the outcome, the dates and the reviewer's decision stay. What is retained and for how long is on the privacy page, which is the authoritative version of that answer.