How to Delete Customer Data on Shopify Securely

Customer data can be a sensitive asset and should be managed carefully. To ensure the safety of your customers’ data and comply with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), Shopify allows you to delete customer data from your store. But how do you delete customer data on Shopify?

To delete customer data on Shopify:

1. Navigate to the Customers tab in your Shopify admin and select the customer you want to delete.
2. Click “Erase personal data“ and confirm the deletion.
3. Go back to the customer’s tab and verify the customer data has been deleted.

Deleting customer data in Shopify

1. Locate the customer you want to erase data for 

The first step is to go to your Shopify dashboard. The dashboard is where all the information about your store is stored. Once you’re logged in, you can begin erasing customer data. Here’s how to find the customer you want to delete:

1. Go to the “Customers“ tab. That will take you to a page with a list of all customers who have purchased products from your store.
2. Click on the name of the customer whose data you want to erase.  
3. Erase the customer’s personal data.

Once you’ve clicked on a customer’s name, a new window will appear with all of their personal information, such as:

• Their address
• Their phone number
• Their email address

At the bottom of this window, there will be an option to “Erase personal data“. Click this button to erase their personal information from your store’s database.  

2. Confirm the erasure request & ensure data has been deleted

A pop-up window should now appear asking if you’re sure that you want to delete this customer’s data.

1. Read the message carefully to ensure you understand what’s about to happen.
2. If you’re sure, confirm the request. After that, the customer’s personal data will be erased from your store’s database.
3. Verify that the data is deleted.

Now that the customer’s data has been erased, it’s essential to verify that it was deleted from your store’s database. Here are the steps:

1. Go back to the list of customers.
2. Check to see if the customer’s name is still listed. If it isn’t, you can be confident that their data has been erased from your store’s database.

Extra Tip: If you’re stuck in this process, don’t hesitate to contact the Shopify support team for help. They will answer questions and guide how to erase customer data from your store securely.

If you’re still not sure about how to delete customer data on Shopify, then watch this video for a more detailed explanation:

Deleting a customer account

Learn how to delete customer accounts by watching the video below. You can also enable customer accounts by following this guide.

Editing customer profiles

You can edit existing customer profiles from the ‘Customers’ page. Before updating a customer profile, ensure that no other staff member is currently editing the same profile. Here’s how to edit a customer profile:

1. Go to ‘Customers’ from your Shopify admin.
2. Click the customer’s name.
3. To add a note to the customer profile, enter the information in the ‘Customer Note’ field, and click ‘Save’.
4. To edit the customer’s contact information, click ‘Manage > Edit contact information’ in the ‘Customer overview’ section and make the necessary changes.
5. To edit the customer’s address, click ‘Manage > Manage addresses’ in the ‘Customer overview’ section. You can edit the current address, set a new default address, or add a new address.
6. To change the customer’s tax settings, click ‘Manage > Manage tax exemptions’ in the ‘Customer overview’ section.
7. To change the customer’s email marketing settings, click ‘Manage > Edit marketing settings’ in the ‘Customer overview’ section.
8. To apply tags to the customer profile, add or remove tags in the ‘Tags’ section.

Merging customer profiles

If you have two or more customer profiles referring to the same customer, you can merge these profiles into one.

The merged profile will include orders, draft orders, addresses, email address, phone number, name, notes, tags, tax settings, timeline events, credit cards, customer accounts, gift cards, discounts, and metafields from all the merged profiles.

Deleting customer profiles

You can delete individual customer profiles or multiple customer profiles in bulk. However, customer profiles with an order history, pending redaction due to a GDPR erasure request, or an active or past subscription cannot be deleted.

Does Shopify keep customer data?

When it comes to personal data, the individual’s information, including sensitive personal information, is typically retained for as long as they utilize the services or products of Shopify, or until they request the deletion of their information. This retention is necessary for the provision of Shopify services. Additionally, personal information may be kept to fulfil legal obligations or safeguard the interests of the individual or others.

In the case of a merchant running a store powered by Shopify, if the store is closed, subscription fees are discontinued, or the account is terminated, the store’s information is held for a period of two years before the deletion process is initiated.

It’s important to note that when a purchase is made, or a visit is made to a store powered by Shopify, Shopify acts as a service provider or processor for the merchant. The decision on how long the customer’s information is retained lies with the merchant, not Shopify.

Conclusion

Deleting customer data from your Shopify store is a straightforward process that only takes a few minutes. Ensure you follow the steps above and verify that the data is deleted.

That way, you can be confident that your customer’s personal information is safe and secure. And if you ever need help, you can always contact the Shopify customer support team.