Ask How do freelance platforms handle situations where the delivered work gets used before payment is released?

[Brendan]

This is one of the more uncomfortable situations a freelancer can end up in. You submit the work, the client starts using it, but the payment is still sitting in escrow or has not been approved yet. Technically the work has been put to use before any money has changed hands. Most platforms have rules about this, but enforcing them when the work is digital is not always easy. It raises real questions about ownership and protection during that window. Has this ever happened to you, and did the platform actually step in to help?