Shopify · Shopify Privacy Policy

Data Retention Policy

Medium severity
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What it is

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements, and where required for Shopify to assert or defend against legal claims.

Why it matters

The absence of specific maximum retention periods means Shopify retains broad discretion to hold your personal information for extended periods, which creates ongoing data exposure risk and may conflict with GDPR's storage limitation principle.

Consumer impact

Shopify collects a wide range of personal data including contact details, payment information, browsing behavior, device identifiers, and purchase history from both merchants and end consumers shopping at Shopify-powered stores. This data is shared with an extensive network of third parties including advertising platforms, fraud detection vendors, payment processors, and third-party app developers, meaning your shopping behavior across multiple stores may be aggregated and used for targeted advertising without your explicit awareness. You can opt out of cross-context behavioral advertising and exercise data access or deletion rights by visiting Shopify's privacy request portal at https://privacy.shopify.com/en/consumer.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Delete Your Data
    Submit a data deletion request through Shopify's consumer privacy portal at https://privacy.shopify.com/en/consumer, provide identity verification, and specify the scope of data you want deleted.

Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC can pursue action against data retention practices that are deceptive or constitute unfair data minimization failures under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
    File a complaint →
  • State AG
    California's CPPA enforces CPRA requirements for businesses to disclose specific data retention periods for each category of personal information collected.
    File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information
Document
Shopify Privacy Policy
Entity
Shopify
Document last updated
March 24, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 15, 2026
Last verified
April 4, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002225
Document ID
CA-D-00122
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
929225abb20671960ed1f40a6325a4c72cf5ea341e79aa8378056b3b66ef5708
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Shopify | Document: Shopify Privacy Policy | Record: CA-P-002225
Captured: 2026-03-15 11:22:02 UTC | SHA-256: 929225abb2067196…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/shopify/shopify-privacy-policy/data-retention-policy/
Accessed: April 6, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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