Why a Privacy Policy is Required For a Shopify Store

There are several reasons why your store requires a Privacy Policy, including legal requirements, limiting your legal risk, and building trust with your customers (or future customers).

Laws

There are a number of global laws that require Privacy Policies. Your Shopify store must meet the legal requirements of the country your consumers reside in.

Let's consider some of the applicable laws.

The California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) is a state law that will be applicable to your Shopify store if any of your consumers live in California - even if your business has no physical presence in California. CalOPPA affects any business which collects personal data from Californian residents and is one of the strictest privacy and data protection laws in the world.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU regulation that came into effect in May 2018 with the aim to keep EU residents' data secure. The GDPR applies to any ecommerce store which allows EU residents to access and purchase goods and services from it - regardless of whether or not the shop is based within the EU.

Does your Shopify store offer goods or services to EU citizens? Does your store process or collect their data?

If you answered 'yes' to either of these questions, you need to ensure that your shop complies with the GDPR as there are tough penalties for non-compliance. This is the case even if you own a small Shopify store with a very small EU presence. If your shop has the potential to gain EU customers, the GDPR applies to you.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act 2000 (PIPEDA) is a Canadian law that requires ecommerce shops to have a clear and accessible Privacy Policy. If you have any Candian customers this law applies to your Shopify store.

The Privacy Act 1988 is Australia's Privacy Act that states that any business which offers services to Australian citizens must have a transparent Privacy Policy which discloses how their personal data is used.

If you have customers in California, Canada, Australia, the UK or anywhere in the EU, these laws will apply to your Shopify store.