Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-07-28

formulaDB is an Excel add-in that runs entirely inside your browser. Its query engine, DuckDB compiled to WebAssembly, executes within the Office.js sandbox in the same browser context as your workbook. The practical consequence for privacy is unusual and worth stating plainly: your spreadsheet data and the files you query are never sent to a formulaDB server, because there is no formulaDB server in the data path.

Data We Collect

Personal Information

We do not require an account to use formulaDB, and we do not collect names, addresses, or payment details through the add-in. If you email us, we receive whatever you choose to put in that message.

Usage Information

The add-in reports basic usage analytics through a tracker we self-host on infrastructure we operate — no third party ever receives this data. What is reported is a fixed, low-cardinality vocabulary:

• Which of the three task pane views you reach — the Welcome screen, the Workspace, and the Examples panel — reported as page views.
• A fixed set of actions: adding local file sources (how many were mounted, refreshed, rejected, or failed — never their names), inserting a source cell (whether it succeeded), running an Example (which one, and whether it succeeded), refreshing the result cache (how many entries were cleared), and clicking an outbound link (which one — our site or Sumpa Labs).
• Whether your first query of a session succeeded, which of DB.QUERY, DB.SCHEMA, or DB.SOURCE produced that result, and — only on failure — a three-value error code such as "unreachable source" or "query error". This is counted once per session, not once per recalculation.

We never collect your cell values, formulas, query results, the SQL you write, the file names of sources you mount, or the source URLs you query. The tracker is cookieless and stores no identifier in your browser: it derives a visitor count from a server-side hash that rotates daily, so the same person cannot be followed from one day to the next. Where your browser sends a Do Not Track signal, we honour it and stop counting you. Our hosting provider may separately keep standard, short-lived web-server access logs for the static pages of this site (the marketing and documentation pages you are reading now); those logs are not linked to any workbook activity.

Your Excel Data

Your cell values, formulas, and query results stay in your workbook and in the browser tab running the add-in. Local files you open through the task pane are handed to a browser-local virtual file system by file handle; their bytes never leave your machine. Remote sources you reference by https:// URL are fetched directly from their origin by your browser — formulaDB does not proxy, mirror, or cache them on any server we operate.

How We Use Your Data

Because the engine runs locally, we have no copy of your data to use. Query inputs and results are used only to compute the answer that spills back into your sheet, on your device. If you contact support, we use your message solely to respond to you.

Data Storage and Security

formulaDB keeps no server-side store of spreadsheet data — there is no retention window because there is nothing retained off your device. The add-in's own code is delivered over HTTPS. Within a session, sources and results are held in browser memory and an in-memory cache, and are cleared when the workbook or tab closes. Securing the device and Microsoft 365 account that load the add-in is, as with any Excel content, in your control.

Third-Party Services

formulaDB integrates no third-party identity provider and no commerce processor. Its usage analytics are self-hosted on infrastructure we operate rather than routed through a third-party analytics vendor — a stronger position than the industry norm, since no outside company ever receives your usage data. The only parties in the picture are:

• Your hosting of the data you query — when you point at a remote https:// source, your browser talks to that origin directly, under whatever terms that origin sets.
• Our static-site host — this website (landing, docs, and legal pages) is served by a content-delivery network. It sees ordinary requests for static files, not your workbook.
• Your Microsoft 365 environment — Excel and the Office.js runtime load the add-in. Microsoft's handling of your Office session is governed by your agreement with Microsoft.

Your Rights

Since we hold no personal data extracted from your use of the add-in, there is generally nothing for us to export or erase on your behalf. For any email correspondence you have sent us, you may ask us to delete it at [email protected].

International Data Transfers

Your query data does not cross a border through us, because it does not pass through us at all. Where your browser fetches a remote source, the transfer is between you and that source's host. Requests for this static site may be served from a content-delivery edge near you.

Data Breach Notification

A breach of a central store of your spreadsheet data is not a risk we can have, because we keep no such store. Should we ever become aware of a security issue affecting the add-in's code or this site, we will publish the details here and notify anyone who has contacted us, as required by applicable law.

Changes to this Policy

If formulaDB's architecture changes in a way that affects this policy, we will update this page and revise the "last updated" date above. Material changes will be called out clearly.

Contact Us

Questions about privacy? Email [email protected].