$ cat privacy.md
privacy policy
What we collect, why, and what we do with it — across this website, every StoreSmith app on the Shopify App Store, and work we do for you directly. Written to be read, not skimmed past.
who we are
StoreSmith (“we”, “us”) builds and runs Shopify apps and delivers engineering work for Shopify merchants.
This policy covers three things: storesmith.dev, our apps on the Shopify App Store, and services we deliver under a direct agreement. Where an app or contract says something more specific, that wins for that app or contract.
this website
- contact form
- Name, work email, company, store URL and your message. Used to reply and scope work.
- store health audit
- The store URL you enter and the public results of the audit. We read only what any visitor to your store can see.
- analytics
- Pages viewed, referrer, device and approximate location — only if you accept analytics cookies. No analytics run before you choose.
- server logs
- IP address, browser and request details, kept briefly by our hosting provider to run and secure the site.
Legal basis: our legitimate interest in answering enquiries and running the site, your consent for analytics, and steps you ask us to take before a contract.
shopify apps
When you install a StoreSmith app, Shopify gives it access only to the data the app asks for at install. You see and approve that list before anything is shared. We ask for the minimum each app needs to work.
two kinds of data, two roles
- Your account data — shop name, shop domain, the store owner’s or staff member’s name and email, plan and settings. We are the controller of this data.
- Your store’s data — orders, customers, products and anything else the app processes for you. You are the controller; we process it on your behalf and only to provide the app.
per app
- date picker
- Reads orders to show the delivery date and gift message a customer chose. Stores your scheduling rules, the chosen date and the gift message. A gift message can contain personal information your customer chooses to write.
- store locator
- Stores the locations you add — addresses, hours and contact details for your stores. Shoppers’ searches are processed to show nearby stores and are not tied to an identity.
- other apps
- Apps still in development (crm connect, rms/pos connect, shipping connect, upsell, companion, store health) are added to this table, with exactly what they access, before they launch.
shopify’s privacy requirements
- We act on Shopify’s mandatory privacy requests: when a customer asks for their data or asks for it to be erased, and when a store asks for its data to be erased.
- When you uninstall an app, Shopify sends us an erasure request for your store. We delete your store’s data within 30 days, unless the law requires us to keep a record (billing records, for example).
- Payment for apps runs through Shopify. We never see or store card details.
- Connected systems you choose — a CRM, POS, ERP or carrier — receive data because you set up that connection. Their own terms and privacy policies apply once the data reaches them.
client work
When you hire us directly, we work in your store and your systems under a written agreement. That agreement, and any data processing agreement attached to it, sets out what we can access.
- We access stores through collaborator or staff accounts you control. We will never ask for your password.
- Code lives in repositories you own. Store data stays in your store and your systems unless the scope says otherwise.
- When work ends, we remove our access and delete any copies of your data we held, except what we must keep for legal or accounting reasons.
how we use data
- To provide, support and fix the apps and services you use.
- To bill you and keep the records the law requires.
- To tell you about changes that affect you — security, pricing, Shopify platform changes.
- To send product news, only if you opt in. Every email has an unsubscribe link.
What we don’t do: sell data, use your store’s data for advertising, or use your store’s or your customers’ data to train AI models. Where we use AI tools to provide a service, we use them under terms that do not keep or train on the data.
where data lives
Our apps run on cloud infrastructure in the United States. We work from more than one country. Where data moves out of the UK, EU or another region with transfer rules, we use the safeguards that law requires, such as standard contractual clauses.
retention
- app store data
- While the app is installed; deleted within 30 days of uninstall.
- app logs
- As long as the app’s plan says (a sync log, for example), then deleted.
- enquiries
- Up to 24 months after our last contact, unless you become a client.
- billing records
- As long as tax and accounting law requires.
security
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Each store’s data is kept separate from every other store’s. Access is limited to the engineers who support the app, and every production change is reviewed by a senior engineer. If a breach affects your data, we tell you without undue delay and within the time the law sets.
your rights
Depending on where you live — including under the GDPR, the UK GDPR, the UAE’s data protection law and US state laws such as the CCPA — you can ask to access, correct, delete or export your data, object to or restrict how we use it, and withdraw consent at any time. We don’t sell or share personal information for cross-context advertising.
If you shop at a store that uses our apps, the store is in charge of your data. Contact the store first; we will help them answer you. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we update the date at the top and tell app users in the app or by email before the change takes effect. Our services are for businesses and are not directed at children.
contact
Privacy questions or requests: privacy@storesmith.dev. We reply within 30 days, usually much sooner. See also our billing policy.