App Uninstall flow to save merchant from uninstalling

Shopify Apps

Topic summary

A developer is exploring ways to prevent merchants from uninstalling their Shopify app by implementing a cancellation flow within the Shopify Admin. They want to offer incentives like discounts during the uninstall process but cannot find documentation on customizing this flow.

Community Response:

  • No such customization is currently available for the uninstall process
  • Apps should not add friction to the admin uninstall experience
  • The concern is that allowing this could lead to manipulative retention tactics similar to aggressive marketing patterns

Recommendation:

  • Focus on improving the app’s core value proposition rather than intervention at uninstall
  • Raise feature requests on the official Shopify developer forums if pursuing this further

Status: The discussion remains unresolved with no built-in solution available for customizing the uninstall flow.

Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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We are investigate ways to keep merchants using our application and saving them before they uninstall the application from the Shopify Admin. I have not been able to find any documentation on being able to implement a Cancellation Flow to offer app discounts or other incentives to continue using the application.

Is anyone aware of the ability to customize the uninstall flow that is offered in the Shopify admin when the merchant is uninstalling the application?

1 Like
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@DexG No, uninstall is uninstall and apps should not have fiat to add more friction in the admin that would be a mess.

The apps value proposition is a cancellation flow, when the value proposition fails then uninstall happens.

Adding anything to that clinical view is collective self indulgence.

It’s the type of change that leads to “HEY WAIT! UWU :backhand_index_pointing_right: :backhand_index_pointing_left: ?don’t you like making money?!!” nonsense type of marketing making it’s way into the admin similar to how such patterns plague the frontend for customers.

If you want to push this raise it on the dev forums:

https://community.shopify.dev/