Send a customer a copy of their data in Shopify
A customer can ask for a copy of everything you hold about them, and under privacy law you have one month to answer. Shopify builds the file for you: from the customer profile, one action requests their data, and you read it from the profile page and hand it over. This tutorial works through one request, with the deadline doing the counting.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Request received | 11 November 2026 |
| Respond by | 11 December 2026 |
| Orders in the export | 4 |
| Order total in the export | $203.25 |
| Addresses in the export | 2 |
Download the data request log: customer-data-request-log.csv (214 bytes, md5 2dc3b034810ff600c5e944d9761d75f2).
A log of customer data requests: the customer, the date the request arrived, the one-month deadline, and what the export holds. The deadline is the request date plus one month.
1Confirm the request and the customer's identity
Check the request came from the customer it names, and keep a copy with the date it arrived. The deadline runs from the day you received it, so the date matters more than the wording.
2Open the customer profile
From your Shopify admin, click Customers, then click the customer profile the request is about.
3Request the customer's data
Click More actions, then Request customer data. Refresh the customer's profile page to access the customer's data; if you are the store owner, this data is also sent to your email. Then provide the customer with the data they requested, if you have determined this is legally required or consistent with your store's policies.
4Log the request and the deadline
Record the request in the log: received 11 November 2026, respond by 11 December 2026. The worked example covers Maya Chen, whose export holds 4 orders totalling $203.25 and 2 addresses. A complex request can be extended by two further months, as long as you tell the customer within the first month and explain why.
5Handle the copies Shopify does not hold
Shopify sends the data request to the apps and channels installed on your store, so they can provide their copies too. Data in tools outside Shopify needs a separate request, so work through those copies and reply to the customer when the file has gone out.
The arithmetic
Maya Chen's data export, with the dates that bound the request.
| Item | Figure | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Orders in the export | 4 | 4 orders |
| Order total in the export | $203.25 | $56.00 + $45.00 + $89.50 + $12.75 |
| Addresses in the export | 2 | Home and cottage |
| Request received | 11 November 2026 | Day 0 |
| Respond by | 11 December 2026 | One month later |
$56.00 plus $45.00 plus $89.50 plus $12.75 equals $203.25, the order total in the export. The deadline is one month from the request: 11 November 2026 plus one month is 11 December 2026.
Held at the counter
You hand the data over, not Shopify. The file lands on the customer profile page, and in the store owner's email. It is your job to provide it to the customer, once you have determined the request is legally required or consistent with your store's policies.
One month is the deadline, not a target. Respond within one month of receiving the request. For a complex request you can extend by two further months, but only if you tell the customer within the first month and explain why.
Verify the requester first. A data file holds a customer's name, address, and order history. Confirm the request came from that customer before you submit it, or you may hand one person's data to someone else.
Sources
- Processing customer data requests — Shopify's help pages: the More actions, Request customer data steps, and the note that store owners and staff with the right permissions can complete a request.