Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 5, 2026

Who we are

Pause is a Shopify app operated by Pause ("we", "us", "our"). We help Shopify merchants collect and understand customer feedback. This policy explains what data we collect, why, and how we handle it.

Data we collect from merchants

When you install Pause on your Shopify store, we collect:

  • Your Shopify store domain and access token (required for the app to function)
  • Session data for authentication
  • Goals and configuration you set up within the Pause dashboard

Data we collect from shoppers

When the Pause widget appears on a merchant's storefront, we collect the following from shoppers who interact with it:

  • Browsing signals: time spent on page (dwell time), scroll depth, page URL, referring URL, and device type (mobile, tablet, or desktop). These are used to determine when to show a question.
  • Session identifier: a randomly generated ID stored in the browser's localStorage. This is not tied to any personal identity. It expires after 15 days of inactivity.
  • Feedback responses: text or voice responses a shopper voluntarily submits. Voice recordings are transcribed and stored as text.
  • Shopify customer ID: if the merchant's theme passes this to Pause, we store it to link feedback to a known customer. We do not independently identify shoppers.

What we do not collect

  • We do not collect names, email addresses, payment information, or any personal data from shoppers unless they voluntarily include it in a feedback response.
  • We do not use cookies. The session ID is stored in localStorage only.
  • We do not track shoppers across different stores.
  • We do not sell or share data with third-party advertisers.

How we use the data

  • Browsing signals are used solely to determine when to show a feedback question (e.g., after a shopper has spent time on a product page).
  • Feedback responses are classified into themes using AI and presented to the merchant as aggregated insights. Individual responses are visible to the merchant who owns the store.
  • Voice recordings are transcribed using a third-party transcription service (OpenAI Whisper), then stored as text. Audio files are retained temporarily for processing and deleted afterward.

Third-party services

We use the following third-party services to operate Pause:

  • Cloudflare: hosting, edge compute, and file storage
  • Neon: PostgreSQL database hosting
  • Anthropic (Claude): AI-powered question generation and response classification
  • OpenAI (Whisper): voice response transcription
  • Shopify: app platform, authentication, and session management

We do not share shopper feedback data with any of these providers beyond what is necessary for processing (e.g., sending text to Claude for theme classification, or audio to Whisper for transcription).

Data retention

  • Shopper session IDs expire after 15 days of inactivity.
  • Feedback responses are retained for as long as the merchant's account is active.
  • When a merchant uninstalls Pause, we delete their data within 30 days.

Merchant obligations

Merchants who install Pause are responsible for disclosing data collection on their storefront in accordance with applicable privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.). We recommend merchants mention Pause in their store's privacy policy and note that anonymous browsing data and voluntary feedback may be collected.

Your rights

If you are a shopper and want your feedback removed, contact the merchant whose store you visited. Merchants can view and manage all collected responses in their Pause dashboard. If you are a merchant and want your account data deleted, contact us and we will process the request within 30 days.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email us at hello@usepause.io