Did you know that your Shopify website uses cookies? Yes, Shopify uses cookies for various purposes, such as website functionality, authentication, security, etc. In this article, we will be explaining what are Shopify cookies, the different types of Shopify cookies, and their purpose.
Major data protection laws require you to obtain consent from your site visitors for using cookies. If you do not comply with these laws, then you have to pay huge fines and penalties. Do you need to obtain cookie consent for your Shopify site? Read this blog post to find out.
Cookies are small text files that websites store on user’s browser when they visit the website. These cookies contain information about the visitors, their interactions, and activities on the site.
Shopify cookies are cookies used by the Shopify platform. Shopify uses cookies for providing various functionalities like authenticate users, track their activities, etc.
Cookies also provide information about how people use the website, whether they are first-time visitors or regular visitors. This information helps website owners to provide personalized content, retargeted ads, etc. Check out our detailed blog post on tracking cookies for more information.
Shopify places different types of cookies on the merchant’s website for eCommerce functionality, reports, analytics, social media integration, etc.
Following are the different types of cookies Shopify uses:
- Authentication: Authentication cookies are used to verify the identity of users and manage their access to secured areas of the website. These cookies play a crucial role in user authentication, providing secure website access, session management, and maintaining user login status.
- eCommerce Functionality: Shopify uses various cookies to provide eCommerce features on a merchant’s website. These cookies enable functionalities such as managing shopping carts, processing checkout transactions, and storing order-related information.
- User preferences: User preferences cookies store users’s preferences and personalized settings during their interactions with the website. These cookies enhance user experience by remembering user-specific choices, such as language preferences, privacy settings, theme preferences, etc.
- Analytics: Analytics cookies are used to collect data on user interactions and behavior across the website. These cookies help website owners understand how users engage with their site.
They provide insights into which pages they visit, how long they stay on each page, and their navigation patterns. The insights derived from analytics cookies are valuable for optimizing website performance and improving user experience.
- Advertising: Advertising cookies are used for targeted advertising and marketing purposes. These cookies track user activity across the website to deliver personalized advertisements based on user interests and behavior. They play a crucial role in optimizing ad campaigns, measuring ad effectiveness, and delivering relevant content to users.
Additionally, the apps and extensions you install on your Shopify website may also add cookies to your website.
Yes. Shopify stores require cookie consent from their website visitors. Shopify places necessary cookies and third-party cookies on a merchant’s website. Also, third-party apps and extensions in Shopify may also place cookies. Data protection laws like GDPR require you to obtain explicit consent from your site visitors before loading cookies on their browsers.
Since Shopify places third-party cookies on your website, you’ll need to obtain prior consent from your site visitors.
Managing cookies for your Shopify websites mainly depends on privacy regulations applicable to your business. Each law has its own specific requirements and guidelines. It depends on the regions where your business operates and where your customers are located.
While we can’t provide you with a single guide that is applicable to all laws, here are some general guidelines that can help you manage cookies on your Shopify website.
- Identify the cookies used: Do a cookie scan for your website to identify the cookies on your website and their purpose. The apps and extensions you have installed on your Shopify website may also place cookies without your knowledge. So, a complete cookie scanning will help you identify the cookies used on your website.
You can use any cookie scanner tool like Cookieserve to scan and identify all the cookies your website installs on a user’s browser. - Disclose the use of cookies: Inform your site visitors that your website uses cookies for different purposes. Specify the purpose for using cookies, what data it collects, how long it is stored, and who all have access to it.
- Obtain prior consent: Obtain prior consent from your site visitors for using cookies to track their actions and collect information from them. You can display a cookie consent banner on your Shopify website with accept and reject buttons to get consent from your website visitors.
- Provide granular control: Allow users to partially consent to cookies based on their categories. This gives more flexibility and control to users over their data shared with websites.
- Add legal policy documents: Create a privacy policy and cookie policy for your website and ensure that your website visitors can easily access these documents.
- Avoid dark patterns: Refrain from deceptive UI/UX practices that manipulate users into giving consent. According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you must obtain explicit and informed consent from your website visitors with clear and specific action, so using pre-ticked checkboxes does not mean consent.
Check out our detailed guide on privacy UX for more information.
- Keep records of user consent: Keep records of the users’s consent with details such as anonymous IP, date and time, and cookies consented to. This will come in handy as proof of compliance in case of any disputes.
- Allow users to request a copy of the data: Allow users to request a copy of the data shared with your website.
- Keep updated with privacy laws: Privacy laws continually evolve and adopt new changes, so it is important that you keep updated with the latest information. We recommend that you hire or consult a legal person to stay updated with the legal requirements.
Does Shopify Use Cookies?
Yes. Shopify uses different types of cookies for various purposes, such as providing eCommerce functionality, user authentication, analytics, social media integration, etc.
Do I Need Cookie Consent for Shopify?
Yes. Shopify places functional cookies and third-party cookies on a merchant’s website. When using third-party cookies, you need prior consent from your site visitors.
How Do I Add Cookies in Shopify?
Cookies are added through your website’s code or by using third-party applications or services.
Can I Disable Certain Cookies in Shopify?
Yes, you can disable certain cookies on your Shopify site. Shopify provides options to manage cookies through your website’s settings. You can use third-party apps and cookie management services to restrict and disable cookies on your website.
Are Shopify Cookies Dangerous?
Shopify cookies aren’t necessarily dangerous. They’re small pieces of data stored on a user’s browser to help them improve their browsing experience and enable certain functionalities on Shopify websites.
However, Shopify cookies collect data from site visitors to provide personalized content and authenticate users. If not managed properly, cookies could potentially affect users’ privacy.
So, it is important for Shopify store owners to understand the types of cookies being used on their website, inform their customers about them, and ensure compliance with relevant privacy regulations such as GDPR.
Conclusion
Shopify uses cookies to enable eCommerce features, user authentication, and website analytics. If you have third-party apps and services on your Shopify store, they might also add cookies to your website.
To manage cookies and comply with privacy regulations, such as GDPR, it’s important that you are aware of the cookies used on your website and inform your website visitors about the cookies. You may also need to obtain prior consent from your site visitors for using cookies.
We recommend that you use any Consent Management Platform for managing cookie consent for your website. These platforms are designed to help websites comply with the latest privacy standards and manage cookie consent.
We hope this article has given you helpful information about Shopify cookies. If you have questions, feel free to ask. We’re here to assist you.
We also recommend that you read the below articles:
WordPress Cookies: A Complete Guide
Which Is the Best Consent Management Platform for WordPress?
