You know the drill—wake up early every day, go to work, and then go home. There’s not much rest in between, especially when thinking about utility bills, student loans, credit card dues, and other financial obligations.
Unfortunately, our main source of income isn’t always enough, especially as working students or average employees. Taking on another job is one good option, but with an already tight schedule, working another one can take a toll on your body.
Thankfully, passive jobs are available on the internet, such as UpVoice. Users say that they earn a few extra bucks through it, and all they need to do is browse and essentially use the internet as they usually do.
However, it’s also important to first understand what using UpVoice entails. How does it work, what does it take to earn, is it legit or a scam, and more importantly, will we end up compromising our information?
We’ve heard that you can earn as much as $75. That sounds good, so we’ve looked into official sources and actual reviews from users to verify the wonders of UpVoice.
Know if UpVoice is right for you by reading this quick guide, and take advantage of the chance to earn passive income.
What is UpVoice?
UpVoice is part of the market research firm, BrandTotal, which banks on innovation and technology to help brands come up with well-informed marketing decisions.
It’s a user panel that gathers information from a community, which directly impacts how corporations across the globe create brand promotions online.
Users earn up to $75 a year through free gift cards, all without doing much.
BrandTotal has been around since 2016. It gathers and analyzes data from consumers to help brands make well-informed decisions.
Who is UpVoice for?
Although UpVoice is free for anyone to join, it’s currently available for US audiences only, and to become eligible, you need to:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have the capacity to sign a contract agreement
- Fit a demographic profile
What is its business model and how is it legit or not?
You might be wondering, “Is UpVoice legit?” You’ve likely looked around on sites like Reddit to get answers—and the short answer is yes.
UpVoice works differently from other known survey platforms. As a user, you’ll essentially become part of the research community once deemed qualified.
If they grant you membership, you’ll need to install and enable the UpVoice browser extension. There are various supported sites, which include the following:
- YouTube
- Amazon
You’ll want UpVoice to work effectively, so you must disable any ad-blockers you may have. For every site visit, you earn 20 points plus bonuses for visiting other sites. You can accumulate these said points and have them exchanged for gift cards.
We hesitated a bit because of this, but UpVoice is part of a market research firm that collects data that only specific brand marketers use, so that makes sense.
Tracking and collecting personal information while browsing doesn’t occur, as they will only use all insights for official marketing and advertising efforts for the relevant consumers.
Is UpVoice Safe?
Although legit, many still wonder if UpVoice steals your data, so it’s only natural to know what you’re getting into. They collect the following data from us as users:
- Our basic demographic details, which we provided upon signing up
- Non-personal data including age, location, gender, and the type of ads we usually encounter
According to UpVoice, all data remains anonymous and amalgamated, which is standard practice in their line of work. The only thing we need to remember is that upon installing, we essentially give them permission to monitor the ads we encounter online.
For more information, however, make sure to visit their FAQs and privacy policy before signing up and installing the UpVoice Chrome extension.
How UpVoice works
Earning extra with UpVoice doesn’t take much, and we can become what they call an UpVoice panel member in just three simple steps:
- Step 1: Sign up. You can simply sign up on the official website. It will direct you to an application form, but keep in mind that you will only be approved if you meet their eligibility requirements.
- Step 2: Install the UpVoice extension. Once accepted, the next step is to install the browser extension, but remember that it’s only available for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
- Step 3: Start browsing! We don’t have to do much except browse and earn points. However, keep in mind that we will only receive rewards when we visit supported sites like YouTube, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Twitter.
It may sound too good to be true, but it is. The only hurdle you need to be aware of is eligibility.
How to make money on UpVoice
As mentioned, the best way to earn extra money using UpVoice is to browse the internet. To fully understand how it works, however, consider the details below:
- Make sure to visit LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Amazon as often as possible. Members can earn up to 20 points daily for only visiting sites.
- Disable ad-blockers, as UpVoice needs to record your user activity for you to earn.
- After a while, we earn enough points that warrant bonus points, which is a gesture of appreciation from UpVoice.
- Apart from browsing, we can also earn points through survey participation and other tasks, which you can find on the website panel. Signing up allows you to earn 2,000 points.
What devices does UpVoice work on?
UpVoice currently works on desktop only, as the mobile app version is yet to happen. You need to download and install an UpVoice browser extension, which can only work on either your desktop or laptop.
Although there are ways to use Chrome extensions on Android devices, you still need to use the actual Chrome browser to start earning points.
This can be a weak point for UpVoice in our opinion, as most users now use their mobile phones for everything.
In any case, however, it can be a good and light income addition to your daily work to-do lists.
How much does UpVoice pay?
UpVoice can be rewarding, but our earnings depend on how active we are. Active users who regularly visit the supported websites swear by earning up to $93 in their first year.
By earning 20 points each time we visit a supported site, earning bonuses for reaching milestones, and the 2,000-point signup bonus, it can be easy to reach 20,000 points in a short period.
As of writing, 450 points equate to $1. For 20,000 points, you get $44.
How do you get paid on UpVoice?
Most users assume that UpVoice only pays via Amazon gift cards, but this is a common misconception.
While UpVoice indeed pays users through Amazon gift cards, it has since expanded to other payout methods, such as the following:
- Prepaid Visa
- AMC Theaters
- American Eagle
- Best Buy
- Adidas
- iTunes
You need to have a minimum of 4,500 points before claiming. But it’s easy since you receive a 2,000 signup bonus.
While it can’t help pay for bills, UpVoice offers some of the easiest ways to earn rewards you can use to purchase other goods and necessities.
Once you’ve redeemed a gift card, you can expect them to email the reward to you within five business days. This will likely come with instructions on using the gift card, so make sure to use it carefully.
Unfortunately, we cannot find any UpVoice hacks to give you a boost. Still, the platform itself already provides plenty of opportunities to maximize and use your earnings, such as using it regularly on supported sites.
Pros and cons of UpVoice
From what we can gather so far, we can truly say that UpVoice is a legit and trustworthy website. Although relatively new, it holds a ton of potential, especially since we don’t have to exert much effort to earn extra.
As with most things on the internet, however, it’s important to weigh our options by understanding how it works and examining both the pros and cons. Here are some things to consider:
Pros
- Provides an easy avenue to earn points
- Low payout minimum for redeeming
- Easy sign up
- Convenient use of extension browser
Cons
- Limited to US citizens only
- Requires users to meet strict eligibility criteria
- No cash rewards, only gift cards
- Only earn points through participating websites
Although UpVoice can seem limiting, we can conclude that strict eligibility rules can mean better security and reliability. It certainly provides an easy way to earn points, making it a good option as a passive income stream.
UpVoice reviews and complaints
Customer review sites like TrustPilot don’t contain any information regarding UpVoice as of writing.
You can seek support, look at complaints, and read reviews on many online forums like Reddit’s r/beermoney and r/beermoneyglobal.
In our research, we’ve found that many UpVoice users complain about:
- The platform flagging accounts due to VPNs and browser plugins that alter IPs
- Issues with phone verification
- Google Chrome flagging the extension as malware
Still, many users enjoy the reasonable minimum withdrawal threshold, and how they can earn from web browsing.
Similar apps and UpVoice alternatives
Although UpVoice sounds promising, it’s not for everyone. If you’re still looking for other ways to earn a passive income, we’ve created this list of alternative platforms to check out:
- Swagbucks: Also known as SBs for short, Swagbucks pertains to the platform's currency. You can earn them by shopping online, watching videos, answering online surveys, and like UpVoice, browsing the internet. The tasks listed on the platform will only need a few minutes of your time, allowing you to earn up to $1. Although rather small, you can save and accumulate for later use.
- SavvyConnect: Although another passive income option, SavvyConnect is different because it’s a mobile app. You can use it on your tablet and smartphone, but it can also work on desktops. You can earn up to $5 a month per device just by browsing the internet.
- MobileXpression: This one is another income app, but the best thing about MobileXpression is that you can install it on your device and forget about it. It simply tracks your mobile data usage, which helps marketers understand consumer patterns and behaviors online. Thankfully, it doesn’t affect your privacy, and it won’t slow down your device’s performance.
Final verdict: Is UpVoice legit?
From everything gathered and discussed, we agree that UpVoice is a legit platform that rewards its users.
Although very little, the rewards given through various gift cards can help ease the burden of expenses, especially when you’re out shopping for Amazon items or simply want to reward yourself with new shoes.
UpVoice embodies convenience, as you only need to install its browser extension to earn passive income. The only thing people worry about is data privacy, but the market firm assures that it only tracks necessary data brands ask for.
There’s not much to lose with UpVoice—only things to gain! If you’re looking for a new income stream, this platform might be the best option.
Aidan has been writing about personal finance for over 6 years. Prior to this, he worked as a Corporate Finance Analyst where he specialized in Due Diligence, Company Valuations and more. He is a CFA charterholder.
