Shopify can shut you down anytime, and you're on the hook for everything

Shopify's terms give the company broad power to terminate your store, while shifting most risk onto you. The platform hosts millions of merchant storefronts and handles payment processing for online sellers.

🔴 Shopify can cancel your account whenever it wants, for any reason. They answer to no one but themselves. (Account Terms)

🔴 You're responsible for everything you upload, and Shopify isn't liable if it gets breached. You own the liability, they own the plausible deniability. (Account Terms)

🔴 Any unauthorized access to your account is your problem. Even if someone else logs in and runs up charges, you're paying. The store owner is responsible for all account activity, period. (Account Activation)

🟡 Your data might travel unencrypted across networks. You don't control how or where it goes. (Account Terms)

🟢 Shopify's privacy policy and data addendum do spell out how your data gets handled. At least there's a written agreement on that front. (Privacy and Data Protection)

Run a store here? You're renting the space, not owning it.

This breakdown is based on Shopify's publicly available Terms of Service and/or Privacy Policy. It may contain mistakes. Spot one? Let us know.