Requirement 1.2.1 — free OAuth connector for a standalone multi-platform SaaS (external billing, existing customers only) — how to obtain the 1.2 exception?

Shopify App Store
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Our public app review was paused under 1.2.1 (off-platform billing), ref 118559, and I’d like to confirm the right path to the exception requirement 1.2 mentions (“unless you’ve been notified otherwise by Shopify”).

Our situation, which seems to match several recent threads here (35190, 35277, 35773):

  • Duvo is a standalone AI automation platform with ~20 integrations (Slack, Gmail, HubSpot, Shopify, …). The Shopify app is purely an OAuth connector so a Duvo user can link their store; it has no UI inside Shopify and no charges of any kind.
  • The reviewer’s screencast shows the billing/settings page of our own platform. It is not reachable from the App Store listing or the install flow, and installing the app never asks for payment. Our free tier includes Shopify automations, so a merchant can install and use the app without paying us anything; paid plans only add usage and are sold on our platform.
  • We don’t want App Store distribution as an acquisition channel — we’re happy to remain unlisted permanently. We only need public distribution because it’s the sole mechanism that lets our existing customers who already use Shopify authenticate their stores. So in practice 100% of installers are pre-existing customers with an established billing relationship outside Shopify — the group staff here have said doesn’t need migrating (“You do not need to change anything for your existing customers”).
  • Established multi-platform connectors (Zapier, Klaviyo, Mailchimp, QuickBooks Online) are listed free-to-install with the “External charges may be billed by [company] separately from your Shopify invoice” disclosure; we’d gladly carry the same.

We’ve added this request to our review notes and opened a Partner Support case. Questions:

  1. Is the review-notes request the correct/only mechanism for the 1.2 exception, or should this go through a specific team?
  2. Given installs are restricted to existing customers and the app itself is free to use (free tier included), does this qualify, or is a Shopify-billed plan still mandatory for any App Store install path?

Thanks — happy to provide anything else needed.

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