ElRat Designs review for Judge.me Product Reviews App

Serious Unanswered GDPR Questions: Forced "Always On" Tracking & Opaque Data Sharing that remain completely unanswered by the developer. 1. Forced "Always On" Tracking with No Opt-Out The app forces its Shopify Web Pixel into "Always On" mode, granting it unlimited access to customer and business data. Crucially, the native option to switch to the privacy-preserving "Optimised" mode is greyed out and disabled. When I contacted support, I was explicitly told: "Unfortunately, the app pixels cannot be disabled unless [the app] is uninstalled." This directly prevents merchants from complying with GDPR Data Minimisation principles (Article 5) by holding core app functionality hostage and forcing unlimited data access. 2. Contradictory Documentation on Data Collection When questioned about accessing storefront browsing data, their support AI stated: "We collect usage and technical data (like clicks, scrolls, mouse movements, session recordings, page views...) ... Sub-processors include Microsoft Clarity (behaviour analytics), Hotjar (behaviour analytics)..." A human support agent later claimed these tools are only used on the merchant admin panel. Update: I have scanned my storefront and cannot currently detect Clarity scripts running on the public site. Therefore it is likely that this only runs in the admin panel 3. Lack of DPO Response I escalated these specific GDPR concerns (including the forced data state and contradictory tracker disclosures) directly to their Data Protection Officer (DPO). Update: response now received, but core technical questions remain unanswered. 4. Google Shopping API Data Retention Concerns Be aware that their Google Shopping integration does not send reviews directly to your own Merchant Centre. Instead, data is routed to a centralised, pooled resource managed by Judge.me. If your store sells custom products without unique GTINs or global SKUs, matching errors can occur. Crucially, disconnecting this API does not automatically delete your catalogue data from their pool; you must manually submit a formal request for erasure under GDPR Article 17. Summary Until the developer unlocks the "Optimised" privacy setting, I cannot recommend this app for merchants who value GDPR principles of data minimisation. Updated: 2026-07-08