Erase a customer's personal data in Shopify
A customer in the European Economic Area, the UK, or Switzerland can ask you to erase their personal data, and Shopify gives you the button for it: Erase personal data, on the customer profile. The erasure redacts the personal details but keeps the order records. This tutorial works through one request, with the date that matters: the 5-day cancel window.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Request submitted | 11 November 2026 |
| Cancel window | 5 days |
| Last day to cancel | 16 November 2026 |
| Orders kept as records | 4 |
Download the erasure request log: data-erasure-request-log.csv (186 bytes, md5 3f1ee577bca0bdf3d811396aea6e8699).
A log of erasure requests: the customer, the request date, and the last day to cancel. The cancel date is the request date plus 5 days.
1Confirm the request and the customer's identity
Check the request came from the customer it names, and keep a copy of it. As the merchant you are responsible for complying with the privacy and data protection laws that apply to your business, so record the date the request arrived.
2Open the customer profile
From your Shopify admin, click Customers, then click the customer profile you want to request an erasure for.
3Submit the erasure request
Click More actions, then Erase personal data. Shopify processes the request for you: you do not need to submit another request or contact Shopify Support to complete the erasure. The request also goes to the apps and sales channels installed on your store.
4Know the 5-day cancel window
After you submit a request, you have 5 days to cancel it. Open the profile and click Cancel request in the Erasure request submitted section if the request was a mistake. A request submitted 11 November 2026 can be cancelled up to 16 November 2026.
5Handle the copies Shopify does not hold
The erasure covers your store and the apps and channels connected to it. Data held in tools outside Shopify, such as a separate email platform or a spreadsheet export, needs its own erasure, so work through those copies and reply to the customer when they are done.
The arithmetic
One erasure request, with the date that bounds it.
| Date | Day | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 11 November 2026 | Request submitted | 5-day cancel window starts |
| 16 November 2026 | Last day to cancel | Request date plus 5 days |
11 November 2026 plus 5 days is 16 November 2026. The customer's 4 orders stay in the admin as records, with personal details redacted; what was sold and the date and time of the sale remain visible.
Held at the counter
Erasure is not deletion. Erasing personal data redacts the name, address, and other personal details, but the customer profile and order history remain in your admin. Deleting a profile is a different action with different limits, and the two are not interchangeable.
The erasure reaches your apps and channels, but not every company. Shopify sends the request to the apps and sales channels installed on your store. Data you shared with other companies outside Shopify is your responsibility to chase: contact those companies yourself and confirm they erased it.
The right to erasure is not absolute. You can keep data you need to comply with a legal obligation, such as tax records, or to defend a legal claim. Erase what the request covers, and keep what the law requires you to keep.
Sources
- Processing customer data requests — Shopify's help pages: the More actions, Erase personal data steps, the 10-day cancel window, the erasure versus deletion distinction, and the apps and channels note.
- Managing customers — Shopify's help pages: the note that erasing personal data differs from deleting a customer profile.