Shopify is forcing better data hygiene. Are your metafields ready?
There's a Shopify change coming that most store owners won't hear about until something breaks.
From API version 2026-04, the maximum size of a metafield value is being reduced from 2 megabytes down to 16 kilobytes. New metafield values will be subject to the limit straight away. Any existing metafields that exceed 16KB won't be deleted, but they'll become read-only until they're updated.
In other words - they'll silently stop working.
First, a quick explainer
Metafields are how Shopify stores custom data that doesn't fit into standard fields. Things like product specifications, ingredient lists, sizing guides, custom page content, or data passed through to apps and integrations. They're incredibly useful, and most stores that have been around a few years are using them, often without the merchant fully realising the extent of what's in there.
The problem is that metafields have historically been used as a flexible workaround. If a developer needed to store something and there wasn't an obvious home for it, metafields were the answer. That approach, repeated across multiple developers or agencies over several years, can result in large, unwieldy chunks of data that Shopify is now putting a stop to.
Why is Shopify doing this?
Performance and platform stability is the official reason, which makes sense. But there's a broader direction here too.
This change is part of a longer push toward better structured, more granular data. Shopify's preferred alternative is metaobjects, a more structured way of handling complex, repeatable content like ingredient lists, FAQs, size guides, or store locator entries. Rather than storing all of that inside a single metafield value, metaobjects treat each piece of data as a proper object with defined fields.
It's cleaner, more maintainable, and better suited to a world where your store data needs to be understood by apps, integrations, and AI-powered tools. Shopify is pushing merchants toward a more structured foundation, and the stores that get there early will be better set up for whatever comes next.
Could this affect your store?
Possibly, and the honest answer is you won't know until you look. The stores most at risk are:
Stores that have been through multiple developers or agencies. Metafields accumulate over time and nobody ever cleans them up. There's a reasonable chance there are fields in your store that nobody has thought about in years.
Stores with complex product data. Long technical descriptions, deeply nested content, encoded files, rich HTML chunks - these are the kinds of values most likely to fall foul of the new limit.
Stores using apps that write to metafields in the background. If those apps haven't been updated for the new limits, you could run into issues without any warning.
Stores that have been on Shopify for several years. The older the store, the more legacy data tends to build up under the surface.
One thing worth noting on file metafields - whilst they follow the same size limits, the files themselves are stored in Shopify's file storage area, so the file size isn't part of the limit. The metafield simply stores a reference to the file rather than the file itself.
The 5-point check to run now
If you want to get ahead of this, here's what to look at:
Run a full metafield inventory. Products, variants, collections, customers, orders - all of it. You might be surprised what's in there.
Flag anything oversized. Identify values that are likely to exceed 16KB, particularly anything storing large or complex content.
Check what's actually being used. Some metafields are actively referenced in your theme or apps. Others are leftover data that can simply be removed. It's worth knowing which is which.
Identify what should become metaobjects. If you're storing structured, repeatable content inside a single metafield, this is a good prompt to set it up properly.
Update or restructure anything at risk before the new API version rolls out.
The bigger picture
It's easy to treat this as a purely technical problem and hand it off to a developer. But it's worth pausing on what it signals.
Shopify is building a platform where data structure matters more, not less. Stores with clean, well-organised data will be easier to maintain, better integrated, and more future-proof. Stores that have accumulated technical workarounds over the years - and most have, at some point - are going to keep hitting friction like this.
A metafield audit is a small piece of work in the grand scheme of things, but it's the kind of thing that prevents nasty surprises and, done properly, leaves your store in better shape than it was before.
Want us to take a look?
We can run a metafield audit for your store - a full inventory, a size check, a review of what's actively in use, and a clear recommendation on what needs to change. Request your audit.
