On other platforms every app keeps its own copy of the customer in its own database. The order, the renewal, the loyalty tier and the review drift apart, and an AI assistant cannot act on data it cannot see. PlatformDTC works the other way: the store’s data lives in one place, and apps keep theirs there too. Your server does the work. PlatformDTC holds the record.

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The rule

What your app keeps about a store (settings, tiers, points, rewards, reviews, bundles, a sync state) is saved in PlatformDTC. Your own database may be a cache, never the only copy. If your server disappeared tomorrow, the merchant would still have everything your app knew about their store. Apps that can change store data, or read customer data, are checked for this at review.

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How an app is built

  1. React. Subscribe to the webhooks you need, such as a new order or a renewal.
  2. Read. Fetch what you need through the Agent Gateway with your app’s access token. Ask only for the scopes you use.
  3. Save. Write your results back:
Only your app can write this data. The merchant and their assistant can read it, and other apps cannot see it. See Share data with the assistant for the exact calls.

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Example: a loyalty app

  • On orders/paid, read the order, add points, and save $app:loyalty / points and tier as metafields on the customer.
  • Keep the reward catalog as $app:reward metaobjects.
  • Declare an award_points agent tool.
The merchant can now ask their assistant “which Gold members haven’t ordered in 60 days?” and get the answer from orders and your tiers together, in one call.

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Uninstall and privacy

When a merchant uninstalls your app, your data stays for 48 hours. If they reinstall in that time, nothing is lost. After that, PlatformDTC deletes it and sends shop/redact. You still delete any cached copy you hold.