In short: Terms of service consent collected with Howdy's sign-up form is saved for each customer as the value of a "True or false" type customer metafield. To tell customers who have agreed from those who haven't, use customer segments. To check and save the values of many customers at once, use bulk editing and CSV export.
Key points
- Terms of service consent is saved in each customer's metafield as true or false, showing whether the customer agreed
- No log is created that records when the customer agreed
- To tell customers who have agreed from those who haven't, create customer segments that use the metafield value as a condition
- You can change the metafield values of many customers at once with bulk editing on the Customers page
- When you export customers, choose the option to include metafields to receive a CSV file that contains the consent values
Where is terms of service consent recorded?
The terms of service consent field you add to Howdy's sign-up form is a "True or false" type customer metafield. When a customer agrees, the value of that customer's metafield becomes true.
Each customer has a single saved value of true or false, and no log is created that records when the customer agreed. How to make the terms of service field required or optional is covered in How to make sign-up form fields required or optional in Shopify: customer metafield settings.
Source: Howdy Help: "How to set up terms of service with a link" (Japanese)
How do you tell customers who have agreed from those who haven't?
Create customer segments in the Shopify admin that use the terms of service metafield as a condition. Create one segment for customers whose value is true and a separate segment for customers whose value is false.
However, some customers don't have a value saved yet. If you filter "customers who haven't agreed" by false alone, customers with no consent record may be left out of the list. Check customers with no saved value separately with the "doesn't exist" (「存在しない」) condition (IS NULL). To look at them together with customers whose value is false, combine = false and IS NULL for the same metafield with OR (matches either). No saved value means there is no record, so this value alone can't tell you whether the customer has legally agreed.
"True or false" type metafields support the "is equal to" (「次と等しい」) and "is not equal to" (「次と等しくない」) operators, so you can check the number of customers and the list of customers in each segment. Customer segments are dynamic lists based on criteria: customers who newly meet the criteria are added automatically, and customers who no longer meet them are removed automatically. As a result, the list always reflects the current consent status without being rebuilt. How to create segments with metafield conditions is also covered in How to segment customers by prefecture in Shopify and send coupons: area-limited campaigns.
Sources: Shopify Help Center: "Metafield-based customer segment filters" / Shopify Help Center: "Customer segmentation"
How do you check and change the consent status of many customers at once?
To check them in a list, use the customer segments from the previous section. To change values in bulk, use bulk editing on the Customers page. Bulk editing lets you change the metafield values of several selected customer profiles at the same time.
You can select the customers to bulk edit in these 4 ways.
- Select customer profiles one by one
- Select the Customer name checkbox to select everyone shown on the page (up to 50 customers per page)
- In the All customers segment, select the Customer name checkbox, then click "Select all 50+ customers in your store" (「ストアの50人以上すべてのお客様を選択する」)
- In a segment or in search results, select the Customer name checkbox, then click "Select all 50+ customers in this segment" (「このセグメントの 50 人以上のお客様をすべて選択する」)
After selecting, click Edit customers, choose the terms of service metafield under Columns, edit the values, and click Save. With bulk editing, you can change first name, last name, tags, email marketing, SMS marketing, and WhatsApp marketing subscription status, and the values of any metafield in your store.
| Action | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Customer segments | Show a list of customers who match a metafield value condition |
| Bulk editing | Change the metafield values of several selected customers at the same time |
| CSV export | Receive a list that includes metafield values as a file |
Other actions, such as erasing or deleting personal data in customer profiles, are covered in How to handle customers who want to close or delete their account in Shopify: erasing vs. deleting.
Source: Shopify Help Center: "Managing customers"
How do you export consent records to a file?
There are 2 ways to receive consent values as a file: exporting from the customer list, and exporting directly from a customer segment you've created. Both give you a CSV file.
The first is to select the customers on the Customers page and export them. In the settings that appear, choose the option to include metafields and run the export. A CSV file that contains the terms of service metafield values is sent to the email address registered in the Shopify admin. You can choose to export the current page, all customers, selected customers, or customers matching your search.
The second is to export a segment you've already created (for example, a segment of customers who have agreed to the terms of service) to a CSV file directly from that segment's page. Open the segment from the list of segments and export it to receive a CSV file containing only the customers in that segment. If you create segments for customers who have and haven't agreed in advance, you don't need to filter across all customers each time.
Sources: Shopify Help Center: "Importing and exporting customer lists" / Shopify Help Center: "Managing customer segments"
Related articles
- 7 ways to use birthdays, addresses, and consent collected at sign-up (Shopify new customer accounts)
- How to collect newsletter consent at sign-up in Shopify: updating the subscription status
Frequently asked questions
Questions about new customer accounts? Ask us anytime.
We can also help you decide how to record terms of service consent and how to use it together with your existing customer data. Our dedicated team creates customer metafields, sets up sign-up form fields, and places profile page blocks for you free of charge.
