This Privacy Policy explains how NextGen Software LLC (“NextGen Software,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and protects information in connection with the NG: AI Search Bar & Answers Shopify application (the “App”). It applies to merchants who install the App and to shoppers who interact with the App on a merchant’s storefront.
When a merchant installs the App, Shopify provides us with the store’s domain and an access token through Shopify’s standard OAuth process, along with the installing staff account’s name, email address, and locale. We use this solely to authenticate API requests and operate the App for that store — never for marketing or any purpose unrelated to the App.
We store the merchant’s App settings (answer tone, accent color, visual style), billing plan, and monthly usage counters, so the App behaves as configured and enforces plan limits.
Merchants may optionally upload documents (PDF, DOCX, CSV) or provide page URLs to ground the App’s AI answers in their own product facts, policies, and guides. This content, and text extracted from it, is stored solely to power that merchant’s search answers and is never shared with or made visible to other merchants.
When a shopper searches a store using the App, we log anonymous, store-level interaction events: the search query text, which products were shown or clicked, add-to-cart events, and — if a purchase follows — the order revenue attributed to that search. We do not collect or store the shopper’s name, email address, physical address, phone number, payment details, or IP address. These events are associated with the merchant’s store, not with any identified individual.
The App sets a single first-party browser cookie (__ngAttr) that stores the shopper’s last search query for up to 30 minutes, so that a completed order can be attributed back to the search that led to it. The cookie contains no personal information, expires automatically, and is cleared immediately after an order is attributed.
We use the information described above only to:
We do not sell personal information, and we do not use shopper search data for advertising or any purpose outside operating the App.
We share a limited amount of data with the following service providers, solely to operate the App:
We do not share personal information with any other third party except where required to comply with the law, protect our legal rights, or investigate fraud or abuse.
We retain store settings, cached answers, knowledge base content, and search analytics for as long as the App remains installed on a store, so the App continues to function correctly. When a merchant uninstalls the App, Shopify notifies us via the mandatory shop/redact webhook, and we permanently delete all data associated with that store — including analytics events, cached answers, knowledge base documents, settings, and session data — within the timeframe Shopify requires.
Shopify requires every app to support the customers/data_request and customers/redact webhooks. Because the App does not collect or store any personally identifying shopper data (see Section 1(d) above), we have no shopper-linked personal data to return or delete when these webhooks are received, and we acknowledge them accordingly.
All data in transit between shoppers, merchants, Shopify, and our servers is encrypted using TLS. Access to stored data is limited to what the App needs to function, and merchant store data is logically separated by store.
The App is intended for use by Shopify merchants operating a business and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Because our service providers (including Shopify and Google) operate infrastructure in multiple countries, information may be processed outside the country where a merchant or shopper is located. We rely on our providers’ safeguards for international data transfers.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to the App or applicable law. The “Effective date” above reflects the date of the most recent revision.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how the App handles data, contact us at:
NextGen Software LLC