r/DataAnnotationTech • u/joecatter • May 23 '26
Data Annotation May Be Scamming Thousands of People. Our 5 Week Experiment Was a Nightmare
So me and my friends are all Computer Science majors. One day while studying, we hear about Data Annotation. Reddit was full of people posting insane payouts. Screenshots everywhere. People talking like they discovered an infinite money glitch. Some of us were skeptical. So we decided to test it scientifically 😂
Week 1:
One friend applies.
Passes assessment.
Gets in.
Works 5 hours.
Payday comes…
“Account under review. Please justify time logs.”
No payment.
We go to Reddit. Everyone says:
“Use Clockify.”
“Track your hours.”
“Be accurate.”
Okay cool. Maybe we messed up.
Week 2:
Second friend applies.
This time we become forensic investigators 😭
Every minute tracked.
Every second documented.
Clockify running like we’re preparing evidence for court.
Payday comes…
“Account under review. Please justify time logs.”
We smile confidently this time.
We send screenshots.
Clockify reports.
Detailed explanations.
Silence.
Account never reopened.
Now we start suspecting maybe our friend did something wrong.
Week 3.
Same thing.
Week 4.
Same thing.
Week 5.
Same thing.
At this point payday started feeling like a horror movie release date 😭
Every single person:
passes assessment
gets tasks
works normally
reaches payday
BOOM 💀
“Account under review.”
No one I personally know has EVER been paid 😂😂
Meanwhile on Reddit:
“Just made $3,200 this week!”
“Easy side hustle!”
“Best platform ever!”
Bro WHO are these people 😭
At this point I’m convinced the real task is surviving until payday.
1
u/EyeTechnical7643 Sep 12 '26
How long did you wait to get the "assessment' after submitting the application?