Developer changelog

Please review the summary below, which highlights some of the changes we’ve introduced. We also encourage you to review the updated PPA and Shopify API Terms to better understand how all of the updates might impact your business.

Changes that apply to all partners (effective March 13, 2019)

• We now restrict partners from soliciting merchants to leave the Shopify platform. In exchange for being a member of our partner ecosystem and having access to Shopify merchants, we require that our partners don’t actively encourage our merchants to leave the Shopify platform.
• Development stores can be used only to process test orders. They are not meant to bypass the need for a paid Shopify plan.

Changes that apply to developers (effective May 12, 2019)

• Updated March 29, 2019: Apps must sync applicable customer data they collect on behalf of merchants from their online store and point of sale (POS) with the merchant’s Shopify admin. This requirement only applies to public apps and is limited to the fields described here. It’s important for merchants to be able to sync and store their customer data in their Shopify admin so they can manage their business and reach their customers across multiple apps and services they may use.
• For Public Applications (as defined in the API Terms), all checkout and payment processing must go through Shopify checkout. Public Applications can’t bypass Shopify checkout unless they meet the criteria defined here.
• Developers cannot create multiple applications that offer substantially the same services.

For the changes outlined above that apply to developers, Shopify will provide 60 days for you to make the necessary updates to your applications before these sections come into force. All other changes are effective immediately.

If you have any questions about this update, then please contact support through your partner dashboard or request support in our Shopify APIs and SDKs discussion board.