Shopify

Shopify Privacy Policy: User-Focused Overview

*Updated July 7, 2026. This summary is informational and does not replace the full policy or applicable terms of service.*

1. Data Collection and Usage

Shopify may collect different information depending on whether you are a merchant, consumer, partner, or website visitor. Categories include:

• Identifiers and contact details: name, email, address, phone number, and account information.
• Payment and financial information: billing details, credit/debit card information, and account credentials.
• Business and commercial information: products purchased, shopping carts, favorites, reviews, orders, and merchant business information.
• Device and online activity: IP address, browser, device details, network information, search terms, and browsing activity.
• Location information: mailing/billing address and, for Shop users who permit it, precise device location.
• Photos, videos, and inferences: including optional face imagery and inferred preferences or interests.
• Sensitive data: government identification numbers, account credentials, certain demographic information, and—if using Shop—contents of connected email inboxes and imported shopping emails.

Shopify uses data to:

• Provide accounts, stores, payments, Shop, Shop Pay, support, and other services.
• Process transactions and subscriptions.
• Prevent fraud and comply with legal requirements, including identity verification and anti-money-laundering rules.
• Analyze usage, personalize experiences, develop and improve products, and conduct marketing.
• Communicate about services and, where legally permitted or based on consent, send marketing.

Shopify may combine information from multiple devices and sources, including connected email accounts, marketplaces, service providers, cookies, pixels, and analytics tools.

2. User Rights

Depending on location and circumstances, users may request to:

• Access or learn about collected and disclosed data.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete data.
• Receive or port data to another provider.
• Restrict or object to certain processing.

Shopify says it will not charge more or reduce service quality because a user exercises these rights, subject to legal exceptions. Identity verification may require additional information, potentially including government ID.

Important distinction: If Shopify processes information on behalf of a merchant, the merchant generally controls the data and must handle the request. Consumers who shop at a Shopify-powered store should contact that merchant directly. EEA and UK users may complain to their data protection authority.

Shopify does not honor “Do Not Track” signals in any specific way.

3. Third-Party Sharing and International Transfers

Shopify may disclose data to:

• Cloud, hosting, payment, financial, fulfillment, security, email, analytics, and other service providers.
• Merchants whose stores users visit or buy from.
• Shopify partners, app developers, theme providers, affiliates, and store-management providers.
• Advertisers and marketing vendors.
• Law enforcement or other parties when legally required or needed to prevent harm.

Shopify states it does not “sell” Personal Data as defined by applicable US privacy laws. However, the policy permits broad sharing with advertising, marketing, analytics, and service providers.

Data may be transferred internationally, including to Canada, the United States, Ireland, and Singapore. Shopify relies on mechanisms such as Binding Corporate Rules, Standard Contractual Clauses, and adequacy decisions, but foreign laws may provide different protections.

4. AI/Machine-Learning Training

The policy says Shopify uses machine learning to improve services and assist merchants. It states that machine learning either involves human oversight or does not produce legally or similarly significant effects.

It does not expressly say whether Personal Data is used to train general-purpose AI models. Therefore, users should not interpret the policy as a clear promise that their data is excluded from AI/ML training. The policy’s broad “improve our services” language may allow data use for product development, subject to applicable law and supplemental policies.

5. Key User Obligations and Risks

Users should:

• Review the relevant merchant’s privacy policy when shopping.
• Understand that connecting email inboxes or marketplaces to Shop may provide Shopify access to shopping-related information.
• Manage cookie and tracking preferences through Shopify’s separate Cookie Policy.
• Provide accurate information and cooperate with identity verification where required.
• Protect account credentials and devices.

Risks include international transfers, extensive third-party processing, targeted analytics/marketing, retention for legal or dispute purposes, and security incidents. Shopify expressly states that no internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure.

6. Liability and Disputes

This Privacy Policy contains no detailed liability cap, indemnity, arbitration clause, governing-law provision, or dispute-resolution procedure. Those terms likely appear in Shopify’s Terms of Service or other agreements.

Shopify does not guarantee absolute data security. Data may be retained to comply with law, resolve disputes, enforce policies, or protect Shopify and others. Closed merchant-store information may be retained for two years before deletion begins.

7. Policy Changes

Shopify may update the policy when its practices change. For significant changes, it says it will provide notice, such as through the Shopify admin or email. The policy does not promise advance notice for every change, so users should periodically review it.

Shopify Terms of Service — User-Focused Overview

*Last updated: August 1, 2026. This summary is informational, not legal advice. The Terms incorporate Shopify’s Privacy Policy, Consumer Privacy Policy, Data Processing Addendum (DPA), Acceptable Use Policy, API Terms, and additional service-specific terms.*

1. Data Collection & Usage

Information Shopify collects

The Terms expressly require account holders to provide:

• Full legal name and business name
• Business address
• Telephone number
• Valid email address, used as the “Primary Email Address”
• Payment and billing information
• Information needed for account ownership or verification, such as government ID, business licenses, or payment-card details

Shopify also processes information you upload or make available through your Store, including:

• Product descriptions, prices, images, videos, code, reviews, trademarks, and other business content
• Store, sales, order, customer, payment, and transaction information
• Data generated through Shopify services, pixels, checkout extensions, POS tools, email, advertising, and analytics

The Terms defer the main details of personal-data collection, retention, security, and individual rights to Shopify’s Merchant Privacy Policy, Consumer Privacy Policy, and DPA.

How data is used

Shopify may use data to:

• Provide, operate, secure, maintain, and improve the Services
• Process payments, orders, shipping, fulfillment, and customer support
• Detect fraud, spam, abuse, and security threats
• Analyze and promote Shopify’s Services
• Provide advertising, analytics, customization, and other “Enhanced Services”

Your uploaded Materials remain yours, but you grant Shopify a broad, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable and sublicensable license to host, copy, modify, display, distribute, publish, and create derivative works from them for operating, improving, and promoting Shopify and its Services. Some rights may continue after account termination.

2. User Rights

The Terms do not provide a complete standalone list of data-subject rights. Those rights are primarily governed by the incorporated privacy documents and applicable law.

Important choices include:

• You may disable Shopify Network Intelligence in settings. This stops Shopify from using additional customer personal data for Enhanced Services going forward, although it may affect features that require it.
• Customers may have rights to access, delete, correct, restrict, object to, or opt out of certain processing, depending on their jurisdiction.
• For certain U.S. state laws, Enhanced Services may constitute “sharing” or targeted advertising, requiring customer opt-out rights.
• You may deactivate payment accounts, Shop Pay, accelerated checkouts, pixels, extensions, and other optional services.
• You can cancel your account by contacting Shopify Support, but generally receive no refund.

If you operate a Store, you are responsible for giving customers legally required notices and honoring applicable privacy choices.

3. Third-Party Sharing

Shopify may share or permit access to data with:

• Payment providers, including PayPal, Shopify Payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Meta Pay, and Amazon Pay
• Apps, service providers, shipping providers, email providers, analytics and advertising partners
• Shopify affiliates, partners, contractors, and providers in other countries
• Third-party services you install or enable

Installing a Third-Party Service authorizes Shopify to share your data and Materials, including potentially customer data, with that provider. Shopify generally disclaims responsibility for the provider’s conduct, security, deletion, modification, or use of the data.

Enhanced Services may combine customer information from your Store with information from other merchants and Shopify. You must disclose this in your Store privacy policy and link to Shopify’s Consumer Privacy Policy and applicable opt-out tools.

4. AI/ML Training

The Terms do not expressly state that user or customer data is used to train artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models. They do permit Shopify to use data to “evaluate, enhance, improve, and develop” Services and to provide Network Intelligence and Enhanced Services. Whether that includes AI/ML training is not clear from this document and should be checked in Shopify’s current Privacy Policy, DPA, and any AI-specific terms.

5. Key Obligations and Restrictions

You are responsible for:

• Your Store, products, marketing, customer relationships, refunds, taxes, legal compliance, and fraud
• Keeping passwords, API credentials, and staff access secure
• Ensuring staff and contractors comply with the Terms
• Providing public contact information, refund, shipping, and Store terms
• Using Shopify Checkout for online sales
• Obtaining customer consent for marketing, pixels, checkout extensions, and tracked events
• Complying with spam, privacy, intellectual-property, consumer-protection, and payment-card rules

You may not scrape, reverse engineer, bypass technical limits, process orders outside Shopify Checkout, misuse the Services, or infringe others’ rights. Shopify may remove content, suspend, or terminate accounts at its discretion.

6. Liability and Disputes

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available.” Shopify disclaims warranties that the Services will be uninterrupted, secure, accurate, or error-free.

To the extent permitted by law, Shopify excludes liability for indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, and similar losses, including lost profits, data, goodwill, or business interruption. You must indemnify Shopify for claims arising from your breach, legal violations, intellectual-property issues, customer transactions, or use of Third-Party Services.

Disputes are generally subject to exclusive courts based on your billing address: Ontario courts for U.S./Canadian merchants, Singapore courts for Asia-Pacific merchants, and Irish courts for most other regions. Ontario and applicable Canadian law govern.

7. Changes and Notice

Shopify may change the Terms, Services, features, and fees. Material adverse changes generally receive advance notice by email, the admin console, or similar means. However, changes for legal, regulatory, fraud, security, or safety reasons may take effect immediately.

Fee changes generally require 30 days’ advance notice. Continued use after posting or notice means acceptance. Users must monitor the Primary Email Address and the current online Terms.