Clear choices. Practical help.

Set up your store

1. Install through Shopify and open Vanilla Consent in Shopify admin. You do not need a separate app account.
2. Open Settings. Enter your business name, privacy contact, policy links and record retention period. Save your changes.
3. Use Banner design and Regions & languages to review wording, appearance and regional choices. Save before testing.
4. In Settings, choose Open theme editor. Enable the Vanilla Consent app embed in the intended theme, then save that theme. Add the Privacy links app block to a section that supports app blocks.
5. In Shopify's customer privacy settings, configure the regions for your third-party banner. Check that only your intended banner is active. Read Shopify's customer privacy guidance.
6. Test in a fresh storefront browser session. Reject optional choices, reload, reopen Privacy choices, accept, then try a custom choice. Check Consent records in the app.
7. In Cookies & scanners, scan selected pages and review the findings and cookie categories. Setup checks explains missing settings and observed issues.

A scan checks selected pages and can miss trackers. Review your other apps and tag installations too. Banner settings and scan results are not a legal compliance certificate.

Handle a privacy request

1. Shoppers use the privacy-request page linked from your storefront. They must confirm their email before the app treats the request as verified.
2. Open Privacy requests and review the request. Privacy emails shows delivery status. A sent email and a delivered email are different states.
3. Optional customer and order access lets you match a verified request to Shopify data. Grant access only when you need those tools.
4. For access or portability, prepare a file, download it and review its contents and coverage. Confirm the review before sending the verified requester a single-use download link.
5. The link lasts up to 30 minutes and requires an explicit download. If the response is lost, the link may already be used. Review a fresh copy before sending a replacement.
6. Handle records in other systems separately. Mark the request complete only when all required work is finished.

Exports normally include accessible orders from the last 60 days. They do not automatically include every historical order, guest order or record held by another app. Submitted erasure requests are not proof that Shopify has completed deletion. Order-withdrawal reviews do not cancel, refund or hold orders.

Troubleshooting

The app asks me to open Shopify

Open the installed app from Shopify admin. A direct link outside Shopify cannot establish your store session. If access was removed, reinstall through Shopify.

The banner does not appear

Check that the app embed is enabled and saved in the theme you are viewing. Review regional and page rules, Shopify privacy settings and any saved visitor choice. Use Privacy choices to reopen the panel.

Two banners appear

Choose which banner you will use. Review Shopify's banner and any previous consent app before disabling a duplicate. Keep your intended privacy controls enabled while making the change.

A permission or customer-data error appears

Use the relevant Connect access button in the app. Your Shopify account must be allowed to grant that access. A grant on a development store does not replace Shopify's public-app data review.

A scan is incomplete

Check the pages and failed phases shown in the scan. Password-protected stores need a fresh password entry for an on-demand scan. Scheduled scans require a public storefront.

A feature is not available yet

This is an early release. Native checkout and customer-account controls still need launch verification. Google Drive backups are not connected. Keep unverified features out of use for live shoppers.

Plans and monthly allowances

Free costs US$0. Full costs US$19 per month. Both include unlimited banner impressions, multilingual banner wording and manual translation edits. Full includes all available advanced app features, subject to the allowances below and required Shopify permissions.

• Free each month: 30 scan pages; 20 ai translation drafts.
• Full each month: 300 scan pages; 200 ai translation drafts; 50 ai cookie batches (up to 20 cookies each); 500 ai image drafts.

Allowances reset on the first day of each month at 00:00 UTC. Manual and scheduled scans share the page allowance. Started pages, retries and failed drafts count because they use processing. Starting a scan uses its first page allowance, including any password check. No extra usage charges. Banner impressions, saved translations, manual wording edits and basic privacy requests remain available.

Limits apply per store and do not roll over. Upgrading raises the allowance for the current month without clearing usage. Short-term rate limits also apply. AI drafts require review before publishing. Shopify handles approval and cancellation; there are no automatic overage charges.

Contact support

Email helpdesk@vanilla.net.mt. Include the affected page, time, steps and any error message. Use synthetic examples where possible.

Do not send passwords, API keys, private download links or customer export files in an initial support email. If you report a security issue, describe it without disclosing customer data.