Does this prove an item is genuine?
No, and nothing that returns a yes or a no can. A verdict is defeated by copying one real code onto five hundred fakes, and every one of them then passes. Provenance returns the item's identity instead: model, colourway, photograph, dates, edition number. Somebody holding a brown bag whose card resolves to a black one has their answer, and it did not come from us calling anything authentic.
So what is it actually for?
Keeping a record of individual objects you have made, and letting whoever is holding one look it up. That covers a resale buyer checking a piece is what the seller says it is, a customer confirming their edition number, and you knowing which of the 380 you made is which. How it works walks through the whole path.
Where is my register kept, and what happens if I uninstall?
The register is a metaobject definition in your own Shopify admin, created when you install and owned by you. Uninstalling the app does not remove it: the records stay in your store and stay exportable. What stops working is the lookup, because a scan goes through the app. Our own copy sits in a database in the European Union, and the Privacy Policy covers what we hold and for how long.
Does it work with my theme?
Yes, and mostly without touching your theme at all. A scanned card lands on a page the app serves itself, which Shopify renders inside your own theme with your header, footer and typography. There is nothing to install and no block to place. If you would rather cards landed on a page you have designed, there is a theme block for that as well, and it works on any Online Store 2.0 theme.
What does somebody see if your servers are down?
The page they scanned into does not answer. That is the honest version: a lookup is a live request, so an outage means a card that does not resolve until it comes back. Nothing on your storefront breaks and no order is affected, because the app is not in the buying path at all. It does mean the printed card should carry the identifier as readable text under the code, which the print sheet does by default.
What do you print on the card?
A QR code and the identifier beneath it as text. The code points at your own storefront address, and the identifier travels in the URL fragment rather than a query string, so it is never sent to a server, never lands in a log and never appears in a referrer header. Identifiers are randomly generated from an alphabet with no I, L, O or U in it, so nothing can be misread off a card.
Can I change what an identifier points at?
Not once it is printed, and not the product it names at any point. Re-pointing an identifier at a different object is exactly what makes a register untrustworthy. Before anything is printed you can edit the edition number, the edition size and the made-on date, or delete the whole run and mint again. After printing, a run is frozen.
Does it store anything about my customers?
No. The app asks for no customer permissions from Shopify and writes nothing identifying a person into the register, which is publicly readable by anyone holding an identifier. No owner names, no email addresses, no order numbers, no prices. That is a design constraint rather than a setting, and it is the reason there is no owner-registration feature yet.
Does this make me compliant with anything?
No. Provenance publishes what you record and keeps it in one auditable place, which is useful evidence if you are asked to substantiate something. It is not a compliance product, it does not verify or audit your claims, and nothing here is legal advice. A claim you cannot back up is your liability rather than the app's.
Do I need a data processing agreement?
You already have one. Our Data Processing Addendum, including the Standard Contractual Clauses, forms part of your agreement the moment you accept the terms. There is nothing separate to sign.
What do I have to tell my own customers?
Less than most apps require, because this one holds no customer data. Your privacy policy should still mention that scanning a card contacts a service on your behalf. We have written wording you can copy and adapt.
How much does it cost?
Nothing today, because it is not on the App Store yet. The intended price is $5 a month for the verification engine, free for the first 7 days, plus $2 per identifier registered, with the first 10 identifiers free for every shop — one plan, with nothing held back for a higher one. The pricing page works that through, including what a run of fifty actually comes to. Figures are US dollars; the listing will show them in your own currency. If you want to be registering items before then, tell us what you make.
Further reading
The longer version of the problems this page solves, written for the problem instead of for the product, including the places where the answer is not this app.
Certificates of authenticity, and what they are actually worth
A printed certificate proves nothing a photocopier cannot reproduce. What to put on one anyway, what to leave off, and what has to sit behind it to count.
ReadWhen your product is copied
What actually works against counterfeits of a small brand's product, in the order worth trying, and the honest ceiling on what any of it really achieves.
ReadWant a register for what you make?
Tell us what you make and how many of it. We will tell you honestly whether this helps, including if the answer is that a spreadsheet and a good photograph would do.