Content lock
Hide a product, collection or page from visitors who don’t qualify. They see your message, a login prompt, a password form or a redirect instead.
Shopify app · Content lock & access control
Lock any product, collection or page on your Shopify store.
Catalog Guard decides who sees what. Run a wholesale catalog for tagged customers, a members-only collection, a password-protected page or a timed VIP drop — and keep the rest of your storefront open to everyone.
- Free plan to start
- No theme code — one app embed
- Checkout validation for purchase rules
Wholesale catalogs✦VIP drops✦Members-only pages✦Private previews✦Timed launches
§ I
What Catalog Guard protects
Three ways to protect your Shopify catalog
Shopify publishes everything to everyone. Catalog Guard adds a layer of rules on top: pick a resource, pick an action, and decide who gets through.
Hide price
Keep products browsable but show prices only to approved customers — the classic “log in to see wholesale pricing” storefront.
Restrict purchase
Let anyone view the product, but only qualified customers can buy it. Supported rules are also validated in Shopify cart and checkout.
§ II
Use cases
Built for the storefronts Shopify doesn’t cover out of the box
Wholesale & B2B catalog
Show a trade collection and wholesale prices only to customers tagged wholesale. Retail shoppers keep browsing your regular store.
VIP & early-access drops
Release a collection to tagged VIPs first, then open it to everyone when the date window ends. No duplicate products, no second store.
Members-only content
Require a Shopify customer login for a page, a collection or a single product — ideal for clubs, subscribers and loyalty tiers.
Private previews by secret link
Share an unlisted collection with press, buyers or partners through a secret link. Anyone without the link sees the locked state.
Password-protected pages
Protect one event page or one collection with a password — without putting your entire storefront behind Shopify’s store password.
Timed launches & embargoes
Open and close access with a date and time window, so a launch goes live on schedule and a limited edition closes on time.
§ III
How it works
One rule, four steps, a few minutes
Everything happens inside your Shopify admin, using Shopify’s own resource picker. Turn on the Catalog Guard app embed once in your theme, and every rule takes effect on product, collection and page routes.
-
01
Choose what to protect
Name the rule, choose products, collections or pages, and pick the protection: content lock, hide price or restrict purchase.
Step 1 — resources and protection type. -
02
Set who gets access
Unlock the rule for logged-in customers, customers with specific tags, anyone with a password or a secret link, or everyone during a date window.
Step 2 — the access condition. -
03
Decide what everyone else sees
Show a custom message, ask the visitor to log in, display a password form or redirect them to another page of your store.
Step 3 — the denied experience. -
04
Review and go live
Catalog Guard summarises the rule in plain English before you save it. Stack several rules on the same resource — for example, guests see no price, retail customers can’t buy, wholesale customers see everything — and conflicts resolve the same way every time.
§ IV
Access methods
One catalog. Five kinds of keys.
Each rule uses the condition that fits the audience, campaign or launch.
Customer tag access
Grant access to customers with any or all of the tags you choose — wholesale, vip, trade. Tags are always read from Shopify on the server, so a visitor can’t fake one in the browser.
Maya BennettGranted
Logged-in customer access
Open the resource to anyone signed in to a Shopify customer account. Guests are invited to log in and return to the page they wanted.
Guest visitorLog in
Password access
Give an audience one simple key for a collection, a product or a page. Passwords are checked against a hash on the server and never stored in plain text.
Event guestGranted
Secret link access
Generate a private URL for previews, press and partners. The link is exchanged for a signed, time-limited unlock — it never needs to appear in your navigation.
Press previewGranted
Date & time window
Make a resource available only between two dates — for launches, limited editions and embargoes. Combine it with tags to give VIPs an earlier window.
Early accessOpen
§ V · When access is denied
Every “no” still feels like your brand.
A locked page shouldn’t look broken. Choose exactly what visitors see instead of protected content, and write it in your own voice.
- Custom message — explain who the content is for.
- Login prompt — send customers to sign in.
- Password form — collect the key on the spot.
- Redirect — land them anywhere in your store.
Product-level control
Show the product. Reserve the price.
For product rules, hide the whole product, hide only its price, or keep it visible but not purchasable. Discovery stays open; the commercial details belong to approved customers.
If your theme uses unusual markup, add custom CSS selectors so Catalog Guard targets the right price and buy buttons — still without editing theme files.
§ VI
Compared
Why not just use a store password or custom code?
Shopify’s storefront password locks the whole store. Custom Liquid can gate a template, but every rule becomes a developer task. Catalog Guard sits in between: narrow, specific, and run by the merchant.
| Capability | Shopify store password | Custom theme code | Catalog Guard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lock a single product, collection or page | No — whole store | Per template, by a developer | Yes, per resource |
| Unlock by customer tag | No | Hand-written Liquid | Any / all tags |
| Password or secret link per resource | One store-wide password | Hard to build securely | Yes |
| Scheduled access windows | No | Custom logic | Yes |
| Hide price or restrict purchase only | No | Theme-specific | Yes |
| Cart & checkout validation | — | Not from theme code | Supported rules |
| Managed by the merchant | Yes | No | Yes, in Shopify admin |
§ VII
Security, plainly stated
What Catalog Guard enforces, and where the limits are
Access apps on Shopify work within the platform’s rules. We’d rather tell you exactly what that means than oversell it.
Enforced on our servers
- Every access decision is made server-side, from signed Shopify requests.
- Customer tags come from Shopify — never from the visitor’s browser.
- Passwords and secret links are verified against hashes and turned into signed, expiring unlock proofs.
- Restrict-purchase rules based on login, tags or dates are validated in Shopify cart and checkout, so hiding the button isn’t the only barrier.
Presentation-level by design
- Content lock stops normal browsing of the page in your Online Store theme.
- It doesn’t remove product data from Shopify’s JSON endpoints, the Storefront API, search or third-party apps.
- Use it for wholesale catalogs, previews and members’ content — not for information that must stay secret.
Privacy: Catalog Guard stores no customer names, emails or addresses. When it records an access decision it keeps only the Shopify customer ID, and clears it after 90 days.
§ VIII
Pricing
Simple plans. Serious control.
Start free with one rule. Paid plans are billed in USD every 30 days through your Shopify invoice — upgrade, downgrade or cancel from the app.
Free
$0
For trying your first rule
- 1 active rule
- 5 protected resources
- All protection types
Most popular
Starter
$4.90 / month
For a wholesale catalog or a few campaigns
- 10 active rules
- 50 protected resources
- All access methods
Pro
$9.90 / month
For stores that run on access rules
- Unlimited rules
- Unlimited protected resources
- All access methods
§ IX
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Something else? Write to [email protected].
How do I hide products from guests on Shopify?
Install Catalog Guard, enable its app embed in your theme, and create a rule for the product or collection with the content lock action and the logged-in customers condition. Guests will see your message or a login prompt; signed-in customers see the product as normal.
Can I hide prices until customers log in?
Yes. Use the hide price action on a product rule. The product stays visible and searchable, but the price and purchase controls appear only for customers who meet your condition — for example a login or a wholesale tag.
How do I create a wholesale catalog on Shopify without a second store?
Tag your trade customers (for example wholesale) in Shopify, then create a rule that locks your wholesale collection — or hides prices on selected products — for everyone except customers with that tag. Retail shoppers keep using your regular store.
Can I password-protect one page or collection instead of the whole store?
Yes. Shopify’s built-in password applies to your entire storefront. Catalog Guard lets you protect an individual page, collection or product with its own password, while the rest of the store stays public.
How do secret links work?
After you save a secret-link rule, use “Get link” in the rules list to copy a private URL. When someone opens it, Catalog Guard exchanges the link for a signed, time-limited unlock in that browser tab. Anyone without the link sees the locked state.
Do I need to edit my theme code?
No. Turn on the Catalog Guard app embed once in Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds. It checks rules on product, collection and page routes. Custom CSS selectors are available if your theme’s price or buy buttons use unusual markup.
Can customers get around a purchase restriction by adding to cart directly?
For restrict-purchase rules using login, customer-tag or date-window conditions, Catalog Guard also runs a Shopify cart and checkout validation, so the item is rejected even if someone bypasses the hidden button. Password and secret-link conditions can’t be validated at checkout and aren’t offered for restrict-purchase rules.
Is content lock completely secure?
Content lock is presentation-level protection: it prevents normal browsing of the page in your theme, while the access decision itself is made securely on our servers. It doesn’t remove data from Shopify’s JSON or Storefront APIs, so don’t use it for information that must remain strictly confidential.
Is there a free trial?
There’s no time-limited trial — there’s a free plan instead. It includes one active rule and five protected resources for as long as you like. Upgrade to Starter or Pro when you need more.
What customer data does Catalog Guard store?
Only a Shopify customer ID, and only when recording an access decision. No names, emails, phone numbers or addresses are stored. Customer IDs are cleared after 90 days and on Shopify’s customer-redaction requests.
Your store, on your terms
Give access intentionally.
Set up your first rule in a few minutes — free, inside your Shopify admin.
Install Catalog Guard