| Hello Anand, We’ve been hearing from developers who are looking for more information about updates to our API License and Terms of Use (API Terms) dated March 13, 2019. Developers are reaching out to better understand if they comply with Shopify's API Terms before updates go into effect on May 12, 2019. In response, we've added details in our documentation and API Terms to help developers better understand and work with these updates, such as: - types of customer data currently collected by some developers on behalf of Shopify merchants that will be impacted by these updates (section 2.3.17)
- guidance on when checkout restrictions apply (section 2.3.18)
Guidelines for collecting customer data
We’re providing documentation that clearly defines which customer data must be transmitted to Shopify and how to transmit this customer data safely. To clarify, this requirement only applies to public apps. Public apps are Shopify apps that access the Shopify API via an API Client (as defined in the API Terms) and are made available to merchants either via a URL or through the Shopify App Store. If you are not a public app collecting the types of customer data that we've listed in our documentation, then you are not impacted by this update to our API Terms at this time. Since merchants rely on Shopify to create the best shopping experience for their customers, it's important that merchants have access to their complete customer records within Shopify. This is fundamental to why merchants choose Shopify to grow their business. When this data is fragmented, it makes it difficult for merchants to do effective marketing, support, and more for their customers. Understanding when checkout restrictions apply
We heard from developers that it was unclear which type of Shopify apps are impacted by this update. To clarify, the requirement that checkout and payment processing occur through Shopify Checkout applies only to public apps. We also recognize there are times when individual merchants need flexibility to use an alternative to Shopify Checkout, so we’ve added documentation that explains what to do to support merchants when those situations or other exceptions arise. Thank you for asking for more information
We will provide updates in our Developer changelog and in our documentation when types of customer data or checkout restrictions change. Shopify strives to ensure developers can easily understand whether or not they are in compliance with our API Terms. This keeps Shopify safe for our merchants, which is in all of our best interests. In that spirit, please do review the updated Shopify API Terms in order to better understand how the March 13, 2019 updates may impact your business. We want to make sure as a developer you have all the information you need to understand if you will need to make any updates in order to be compliant with our API Terms by May 12, 2019. If you have any questions about this update, then please contact support through your partner dashboard or request support in our Shopify APIs and SDKs discussion board. Shopify Partners | 
