Main issue: The “Cancel subscription and close store” option is missing; only “Pause” ($9/month) or “Deactivate store” appear. After deactivation, the store is closed but the login/account remains, with no visible way to delete the account.
Shopify’s stance: Store, account, and subscription are treated as the same. Closing/deactivating the store stops billing; the login and store data are retained for potential reactivation (kept at least 180 days; one support interaction cited up to 2 years). To fully remove personal data and login, a separate privacy deletion request is required via privacy.shopify.com or an escalated support ticket.
User actions and concerns: Store was deactivated. An escalated deletion request was promised by phone but no email arrived after ~24 hours. A data-erasure request was submitted via the privacy portal and is pending approval. The user questions why the privacy link isn’t in help docs and argues “cancel account” is distinct from “close store,” noting they can still log in and manage limited account settings.
Status: Ongoing. Billing should cease after store closure; full account/data deletion awaits privacy team processing. No final confirmation yet.
Shopify help points to: settings / Plan / click on “Cancel subscription and close store” or “Pause” or “deactivate store”
Cancel subscription option is missing from the page and the only option is to either pause ($9 month) or deactivate the store. Chatting with Shopify support, I was told that to cancel the account first I have to deactivate the store. Once I did that, the store is gone and the only thing left is the Shopify account, I can log in, but there is nothing there to act upon other than changing security. No option whatsoever to delete the account or any explanation why I can’t leave Shopify.
Thanks for posting to the forums. We’re sorry to see you go!
I do apologize, but I am not sure I understand the question. Deactivating your store/closing your store is considered the same option. Are you wanting to scrub your email from the system entirely? We keep your account available in case you want to reactivate in the future. This isn’t permanent, but we keep it in the system for a minimum of 180 days.
If you are wanting all of your information purged from our system, you would need to make a request for our Privacy Team to have your information completely scrubbed.
If you can provide more information that would be great!
I believed I mentioned closing account, not store. The store is already closed but no option to close the account. I still can log in and select manage account from the Shopify options, although it clearly states that the store is inactive (the account had only one store).
From the initial chat with Shopify support:
16:47: I saw that. I need the second option mentioned in the link. Cancel subscription, not deactivate store. Deactivating the store does not cancel my account. Shopify expect me to return and keep my credit card
16:49 (Support Advisor): This needs to be done first before putting in a request to remove your data. Otherwise, the info will be held for up to 2 years in case you decide to reopen. The card won’t be charged once the account is closed.
I reached Shopify again by phone and after a long call which escalated to other department, I was categorically told that I would receive an email from Shopify to formalize my request to remove all my information (account) from Shopify. I doubled check the process with the support attendant and also got a doulbe confirmation I would get an email from Shopify. It did not happen.
It is about 24 hours from the Shopify call and no email and no resolution.
Thanks for the additional context. I apologize for the misunderstanding.
Generally, your store is considered your account. You may have multiple accounts associated with one login. However, this can absolutely be purged from the system!
This can be done in two ways. The first of which I mentioned above, is to have our escalated team permanently delete your information. As you stated in your reply, the support advisor has escalated the request. Thus, the process has begun. Please note, turn around time can be a few days, which is why you have not yet received an email.
A second option is to make the request via our online portal. Simply fill in the requested information and our team will purge your information from the system.
Thanks for the link. It just took one chat, two phone calls, and a few posts on the community forums totaling about 2 hours - 2:30 hours to get to something.
Why the link privacy.shopify.com, masked above is not on Shopify help pages or provided during the initial chat, my first contact with Shopify?
Still, the term “cancel account” seems to be a forbidden term at Shopify. Whenever “Cancel account” is mentioned, the reply almost comes to “Cancel store, right”. The whole experience looks like Shopify wants to have a count of active users higher than of what actually is. I am no loinger a Shopify user, but since I can’t cancel my account for the next 2 years, I still count as an active customer - interesting.
From the link I got earlier today (privacy.shopify.com) I was able to put a request to erase my data - so far, nothing about the account being canceling was ever mentioned. The request was placed, pending approval from Shopify - yes Shopify may or may not grant your request.
I am waiting for the confirmation of my data erase request being erased, which could be only removing my name from Shopify mailing list and erasing the tracking information they have on me.
I will follow-up when I hear back from Shopify regarding the request submitted.
I do apologize for the amount of time this has taken from your day. It appears the confusion was due to terminology.
I do want to address your concerns that we are trying to prevent merchants from leaving in order to keep our numbers up. I assure you this is completely untrue, and we only consider active accounts when speaking of numbers. If your account is closed, is it considered inactive. Your login information is maintained in the event you need to access information or reopen your account.
Additionally, to avoid any future frustration, I do want to clarify that this process is in line with any website that requires you to create a login. From streaming services to software, and social media; any account you make online is considered inactive/closed once you disable to subscription. If you no longer want to maintain a login, you would need to request your information be purged. This will help you avoid this situation happening if you want your information removed from other services.
“I do want to address your concerns that we are trying to prevent merchants from leaving in order to keep our numbers up. I assure you this is completely untrue, and we only consider active accounts when speaking of numbers. If your account is closed, is it considered inactive. Your login information is maintained in the event you need to access information or reopen your account.”
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You are still mixing up store and account as they were the same thing. I disabled my store (the intention was to close it) but Shopfiy does not close stores either, it is disabled and it can be restored at any time in the next 2 years. It is “Pause with no $9 fee”.
My store is disabled at this momnt, but the account is not. Shopify still keep all my information like email address, login security options and my credit card, ready to be billed.
I never insinuated that Shopify would count closed accounts (NOT STORES - They are not the same). I did consider that Shopify is counting accounts that are open by making very hard for a merchant to close the account. At this moment I am an active Shopify customer, who has no store enabled but my account is still open regardless my attempts to close it.
I get to this forum logging on my account, and I am still able to manage my account in limited terms, for example, I can’t remove my credit card information - it is not even on my admin page. I can change my account email and the authentication options (2FA) and change my name. That’s all. If is is not an active account, I do not know what it is.
Again - Account and stores are two different entities. You can have an account with stores or no stores. Having stores or not does not remove the account.
You just prove my point made on my prior post.
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Still, the term “cancel account” seems to be a forbidden term at Shopify. Whenever “Cancel account” is mentioned, the reply almost comes to “Cancel store, right”.
As mentioned previously, your store/account/subscription are considered the same thing. Thus, closing your store, deactivating your account, and canceling your subscription are also considered the same thing.
You are able to Pause your store for $9 a month, or, you can cancel/close/deactivate your account/store and pay nothing. Your store information, and login, are still stored when you cancel/close/deactivate in case you decide to reopen.
As you are using interchangeable terminology, I am not quite sure whether your store is active or not. If you are wanting to cancel/close/deactivate your account, please head to Settings > Plan > Close Store. This will stop all billing. That being said, as mentioned, you will still be able to login if you want to reopen.
If you do not want to be able to login, and you want all information scrubbed, that is a separate request. You can do so by completing the form above, or the escalation that we discussed earlier. Please note, you will need to do this for any website you create an account on, if you do not want to login after closing an account. This is standard practice when creating logins through online services/businesses.
We have a full break down on how to cancel your account/store here.