SHOPIFY POLICIES

Shopify privacy policy and terms of service empty, template text, or replaced

A shopper clicks Privacy policy in your footer and finds a blank page, or text that is clearly not about your shop. Or you switched on Shopify's automation and your own wording vanished. These are the same screen in your admin, so one guide covers all three.

What Shopify lets you manage

Shopify's store policies help page lists these: return policy, privacy policy, terms of service, shipping policy, legal notice, contact information and subscription policy. It also offers automated store policies that generate and update content from your store settings. Shopify's caution is plain: the templates are informational, not legal advice.

Which situation are you in?

A. The policy is blank. Nothing has been added yet. Use the steps below.

B. It is full of template or sample text. Someone pasted a template and never edited it. Read it line by line.

C. You switched automation on and your text is gone. Shopify says that on an existing store, activating automation for a policy (return and refund, terms, shipping, contact information) replaces that policy's content with its template, and replaces custom translations in languages that have a template. See section C.

Steps for A and B

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Policies.
2. Under Written policies, click the policy you want to fix.
3. Either write it yourself, or switch on Use automated policy. Shopify lists automation for the return and refund policy, terms of service, shipping policy and contact information, each managed separately. Review what it generated, then click Save. Activating one policy does not activate the others, so repeat for each. If a policy has no automation, or you would rather not use it, turn Use automated policy off if it is on, write the text and click Save.

   The privacy policy works a little differently. Shopify handles it under automated privacy settings, which are on by default for a new store. On an existing store you can activate automated updates for the privacy policy, cookie banner and data sharing opt-out page. Shopify says every update is recorded in your Store activity log. Shopify's page does not give click-by-click steps for the privacy policy, so open it under Settings > Policies and follow what your admin shows.

4. Check each policy against your real practice. Shopify's own review list: does the content reflect how you actually run the business; if you use a returns app, does the policy match the app's rules and customer instructions; are you promising delivery times you cannot meet; is the public contact information correct and suitable.
5. Look at the contact details closely. Policies are public. If you work from home, Shopify suggests a PO box or a mailbox from a provider such as The UPS Store for the address, and a dedicated business number or call-forwarding service for the phone. It also notes that some legal disclosures need a physical address and do not accept a PO box.
6. Add what the template does not know. Shopify says you may need extra disclosures if you offer subscriptions, sell regulated goods, sell products with market-specific rules, or run a site aimed at children. For those, ask a lawyer.

Section C: automation replaced my text

• Before you activate: save a copy of your own wording and any translations first. Shopify tells you to do this.
• If it already happened: Shopify archives changes to the return and refund policy, terms of service, shipping policy, contact information and legal notice for 2 years. In Settings > Policies, use the menu in the Written policies section and choose Get past policies, pick the policies, choose a file format and export. You can export the privacy policy in the same dialog. Shopify adds that keeping records of your policy changes is your job. Our suggestion: also check old documents and email drafts.
• To edit it yourself: go to Settings > Policies, open the policy, turn off Use automated policy, edit, and click Save. Shopify says turning automation off keeps the text currently shown but it stops syncing with your settings. After that, you maintain it. If you turn automation back on later, the template replaces your custom text again, so keep a copy first.
• Translations: Shopify says to review every translated policy.

Automatic or manual?

Automatic stays in sync with your settings but can miss details only you know about. Manual lets you say exactly what you do, but it goes stale unless someone owns it. Either way, you remain responsible for what is published.

How to know it is fixed

Open each footer link on the live store in a private browser window. Each page should show full text, your business name and correct contact details, with no sample wording left.

When to hand it over

Writing legal terms is not our job. What we do: find which policy pages are blank or still placeholders, switch on and review the automated versions with you, correct the contact details and make sure the footer links point to the right pages.

If you'd rather have it fixed: $49 flat for placeholder or missing policy pages, and you pay only if it's fixed. Tell us the store address: tidewellsystems.com/#contact

Questions

Is the automated policy legal advice?

Shopify says it is not.

Will turning it on delete my old text?

For the automated policies (return and refund, terms, shipping, contact information) on an existing store, Shopify says activating automation replaces your text with its template. Export past versions first.

Does it switch on for every policy at once?

No. You turn it on per policy.

Can I use a PO box?

For the public address, Shopify suggests it, with the exception above.