Why a real developer answers our chat

When you open the chat on this site, the person who answers is a real developer: the one who builds our Shopify apps. Not a bot that guesses at your question, not a first-line agent who copies it into a ticket for somebody else, and not a queue that tells you your position. You type, a person reads it, and the same person writes back. This post explains why we run support that way, what you can ask, how quickly to expect an answer, and exactly what the chat keeps about you.

Why we run support this way

Shopify is direct about who owns app support. Its Help Center says "Shopify only provides support for apps made by Shopify," and lists what the developer of a third-party app handles: app errors, feature questions, theme code additions, and charge disputes or refund requests. When a merchant sends a request through the admin, Shopify forwards the form to the developer, then contacts the merchant after 3 days to check whether the developer helped; if not, Shopify contacts the developer again.

Whatever goes wrong with an app on your store, then, the developer is the end of the line. We decided to remove the layers in front of that line. The questions merchants bring to a promotions app are usually specific to one store: why the gift does not show in this cart drawer, why this discount did not combine with that code, what this plan will look like on the invoice. Someone who can read the code that runs the offer can answer those without passing them on, and on our team that is the person on the other end of the chat.

The promise, in four parts

• No bot. Every reply is typed by a person. No automated assistant sits in front of you or between you and the answer.
• No transfers. The person who answers is the person who can fix it. You will not be passed to a second tier and asked to explain the problem again.
• No hold. There is no queue position and no waiting screen. When we are at the keyboard, the answer arrives in the conversation.
• Email first. The chat asks for your email before your first message. It is not a newsletter signup. It is how we reach you when the conversation outlives the page: you close the tab, your connection drops, or we are away.

What you can ask

Anything about the apps, before or after you install them. Most questions fall into four groups.

Setup

Turning on the app embed, placing a block in your theme, building a first offer from a template. The Help Center has step-by-step guides for each app, and the mini apps hub describes what each mini app does and where it appears. Use the chat for the part a guide cannot cover: your theme, your catalog, or the offer you have in mind.

Theme compatibility

Shopify's guidance for theme app extensions says that when merchants uninstall an app, "blocks associated with the apps are automatically and entirely removed from online store themes." That is one reason our storefront pieces are built as theme app extensions. Compatibility questions are rarely general, though. Send your theme name and version, say whether you use a cart drawer or a page builder, and paste a link to the page you are worried about. We can read the page and answer from what is actually on it.

Billing

Shopify's App Store requirements say an app must "Bill through the Shopify Billing API or Shopify App Pricing" and must let merchants upgrade and downgrade "without having to contact your support team." You never need us to change a plan. Ask when a line on your Shopify invoice is unclear, when you want to know what happens at the end of a trial, or which plan fits the offers you want to run. The pricing page lists every plan and what it includes.

Feature requests

If you need an offer type we do not have, or a setting that would save you a workaround, say so. The person reading the request is the person who would build it, so the answer is a straight one: yes and roughly when, not now and why, or how to get close with what exists today.

Hours and response times

We do not publish a schedule we might not keep. We answer as fast as a human can; when we are away you get a reply by email. Because the chat has your email from the start, nothing you send is lost while nobody is online: the conversation stays open and the answer reaches your inbox. Email support also stays available on every plan through the support page.

What the chat stores, and for how long

A chat is a record of a conversation, and you should know what is in that record before you start one.

What is stored. Your email address (required), your name if you choose to give it, the messages in both directions with their times, the page you started the chat from, and the basic details a browser sends with every request: browser type, language setting and an approximate country. A random token in a cookie lets you reopen the same conversation from the same browser, and we keep only a hash of that token.

What we do not do. Our privacy policy says it plainly: we do not sell personal data. Asking a question does not put your email on a marketing list.

How long. A conversation with no new messages for 14 days is closed, and conversations are deleted after 365 days by default. If you want yours deleted sooner, ask in the chat or by email and we delete the conversation and every message in it.

Your chat is separate from your store's customer data. For that data, Shopify requires apps to handle mandatory compliance webhooks, including shop/redact, which Shopify sends 48 hours after a store owner uninstalls an app, and to complete each request within 30 days of receiving it. The chat holds your conversation with us, not your shoppers' details.

FAQ

Is the chat answered by AI? No. Every reply is written by the developer who builds the apps. There is no automated assistant in the chat.

Why do you ask for my email before I can chat? So we can follow up. If you close the tab, lose the connection or write while we are away, the reply reaches you by email instead of disappearing with the page.

Can I ask questions before I install anything? Yes. Questions about theme compatibility, plans and whether an offer is possible on your store are welcome before you install.

Can I have my conversation deleted? Yes. Ask in the chat or by email and we delete the conversation and its messages.

Ask us now

The quickest way to test a support promise is to use it. Open the chat, leave your email and ask the question that is holding up your install. If you would rather look around first, the Help Center and the pricing page are good places to start, and how to choose a free gift app lists the questions worth asking any vendor, us included.