This policy explains how UAB Essential apps handles personal data in connection with the Shopify app Essential AI SEO: AI Blog Post (the "App"). The App uses artificial intelligence to write blog posts and create cover images for the store's Shopify blog.
1. Who we are
UAB Essential apps ("we", "us")
Company code 306227239, VAT code LT100015773711
Baltupio g. 45-27, LT-08324 Vilnius, Lithuania
Privacy contact: support@essential-apps.com (subject line: "Privacy")
We have not appointed a data protection officer.
2. Our two roles
| You are… | Our role | What applies |
|---|---|---|
| A merchant, or staff of a merchant, who installs or uses the App | Controller of your account, billing and support data | This policy (sections 3–11) |
| A shopper or customer of a store that uses the App | Processor for the merchant. The merchant is the controller | The merchant's privacy policy. Section 12 explains what the App does on stores |
3. Data about merchants and their staff
| Data | Source | Purpose | Legal basis (GDPR / UK GDPR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Store details: store domain, plan | Shopify | Provide the App | Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Staff details from your Shopify sign-in: name, email address, language, account owner / collaborator | Shopify | Provide the App, manage access, support | Contract; legitimate interests |
| Shopify access credentials (access tokens) | Shopify | Publish posts to your blog with the permissions you approved | Contract |
| Your article requests and articles: topics, keywords, outlines, language, tone, length; generated titles, text and images; technical records of the AI's last response or error | You; our AI providers | Write, edit and publish your blog posts | Contract |
| Support conversations: name, email, messages | You | Respond to support requests | Contract; legitimate interests |
| Usage and performance data from the App admin; technical logs (IP address, browser, request times) | Your use of the App | Improve and secure the App | Legitimate interests |
AI providers: your article requests are sent to Anthropic (text) and Replicate (images) to generate content. Under its standard commercial API terms, Anthropic does not use your requests to train its models. Generated images are copied into your Shopify store, not loaded from Replicate. The App does not filter or moderate generated text or images, so review them before publishing (see the Terms, Annex S). Don't include personal data about other people, or confidential information, in your requests.
We do not use your data for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
4. How long we keep merchant data
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Store details, sign-in sessions and your articles in the App | Deleted when you uninstall the App. Articles already published to your Shopify blog stay in your store |
| Billing records | 10 years from the end of the year of the transaction, as required by Lithuanian accounting and tax law |
| Support conversations | For as long as we need them to support you and other merchants well: to understand your store's history when you contact us again (including after a reinstall), to resolve recurring issues, and to handle any dispute. We review this periodically and delete conversations on request (section 8) unless we need them for a legal claim |
| Technical logs | For a limited period, normally no longer than 90 days |
| Backups | Kept by our database provider (Neon point-in-time restore) for a limited period, then overwritten |
| Data kept by AI providers | According to their API terms. Anthropic keeps API requests for up to 30 days. Replicate deletes prompts and generated images after one hour |
5. Who we share data with
Shopify, which provides the platform the App runs on. Shopify's own privacy policy applies to Shopify.
Service providers that process data for us, including:
Vercel (hosting, United States)
Neon / Databricks (database, United States – Ohio)
Anthropic (AI text generation, United States)
Replicate (AI image generation, United States)
Upstash (job queue, EU – Frankfurt)
Cloudflare (network security)
Help Scout and Google Workspace (support and email)
Authorities, courts and advisers, where required by law or to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
A buyer or successor of our business, if the App or our business is transferred. We will notify you as described in the Terms.
We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.
6. International transfers
The App's servers, database and AI providers are located in the United States; its job queue runs in the EU (Frankfurt). Where a country does not have an adequacy decision, we rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework (and its UK Extension) where the provider is certified, or on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, together with the UK Addendum. You can request a copy of the relevant safeguards at support@essential-apps.com.
7. Security
We protect data with:
encryption in transit;
signature verification of Shopify webhooks; and
data minimisation: the App can access only your store's blog content, not your products, orders or customers.
No system is completely secure, but we work to protect your data and will notify you and authorities of breaches as required by law.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you are, you have the right to:
access your personal data;
correct it;
delete it;
restrict processing;
receive a portable copy;
object to processing based on legitimate interests (and to object at any time to direct marketing); and
withdraw consent where we rely on consent.
To exercise these rights, email support@essential-apps.com. We reply within one month, which can be extended where the law allows. We may need to verify your identity.
Complaints: you may complain to the State Data Protection Inspectorate of Lithuania (Valstybinė duomenų apsaugos inspekcija, vdai.lrv.lt), to the supervisory authority where you live or work, or, in the UK, to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
9. Marketing emails
We do not add you to marketing email lists through this App. We send only service and billing messages, which we need to send while you use the App.
10. US state privacy disclosures
This section applies to residents of California and other US states with comprehensive privacy laws, in relation to the merchant data we control.
Categories collected in the last 12 months:
identifiers (name, email, store domain, user ID, IP address)
commercial information (plan and billing history)
internet or other electronic network activity (admin usage, technical logs)
professional information (role in the store)
Sources: you, Shopify, and your use of the App.
Purposes: as in section 3.
Disclosed for business purposes to: the service providers in section 5.
Sale or sharing: we have not sold or "shared" (for cross-context behavioural advertising) personal information. We have no actual knowledge of selling or sharing personal information of anyone under 16.
Sensitive personal information: we collect account credentials (Shopify access tokens) solely to provide the App, and not to infer characteristics.
Retention: section 4.
Your rights: to know/access, delete, correct and opt out of sale/sharing (we do not sell or share), and not to be discriminated against for exercising them. You may use an authorised agent. Appeals: if we decline your request, reply to our decision to appeal. If your appeal is denied, you may contact your state Attorney General.
How to exercise: email support@essential-apps.com.
11. Children
The App is for businesses and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect children's personal data as a controller.
12. Information for visitors of stores using the App
The App has no code on store pages and does not process data about a store's visitors or customers. It only writes and publishes blog posts to the store's blog. Questions about a store's blog should go to the store.
13. Changes
We will post updates here and change the "Last updated" date. If changes are significant, we will notify merchants by email.
14. Contact
UAB Essential apps · Baltupio g. 45-27, LT-08324 Vilnius, Lithuania · support@essential-apps.com