Your model never leaves
your machine.
ExcelSurge is a native add-in that runs inside Excel on your own computer. Formatting, tracing, auditing, all of it happens locally. We never upload, store, or see your workbook. For a team that lives in confidential models, that isn't a setting you switch on. It's how the product is built.
Exactly what does and doesn't leave your computer
No hand-waving. Here is every part of ExcelSurge and precisely where it runs.
| What you do | Where it runs | What's sent |
|---|---|---|
| Formatting, colors, number formats, borders | Your PC | Nothing leaves Excel |
| Formula tracing & precedent/dependent maps | Your PC | Nothing leaves Excel |
| Workbook audit & health report | Your PC | Nothing leaves Excel |
| Compare / diff two workbooks | Your PC | Nothing leaves Excel |
| License activation & renewal | Our server (HTTPS) | A device ID and your license: never workbook data |
| Anonymous usage stats (off by default) | Our server (HTTPS) | Which feature ran: never a cell, value, or file name |
The two server rows are the only times ExcelSurge touches the network, and neither one carries your model. There is no feature that uploads a workbook, because we never built one.
Built on the principles behind SOC 2 and ISO 27001
We build ExcelSurge to the security practices those frameworks define, local-first processing, data minimization, encryption, and least-privilege access.
Local-first by architecture
ExcelSurge is a native add-in that runs inside your copy of Excel. Your model is processed in memory on your own machine. There is no cloud step to opt out of, the confidential path simply doesn't exist.
Data minimization
We collect the least we can. No accounts store your files, no server keeps a copy of a workbook, and the optional usage stats carry only a feature name and a device ID, never a cell, a value, or a file name.
Encrypted in transit
The few calls the add-in makes: checking your license, and optional usage stats, go over TLS/HTTPS. There is no unencrypted channel, and no channel that carries your data.
No third-party data sharing
We don't sell data, and we don't hand your usage to ad networks or data brokers. The usage stats exist only to prioritize what we build next, and they're off until you turn them on.
Signed, verifiable licenses
Your license is a cryptographically signed token your copy of ExcelSurge validates on its own. It proves entitlement without phoning home about what you're working on.
Least-privilege access
Access to any system is kept to the minimum needed, and we tighten operational controls as we grow, the discipline behind SOC 2 and ISO 27001, built in from the start rather than bolted on later.
These describe how ExcelSurge is built and operated today.
Running vendor due diligence on ExcelSurge?
The short version for your questionnaire: ExcelSurge is a desktop add-in that processes spreadsheets locally, transmits no workbook data, stores no customer files, and encrypts the two calls it makes. If your team needs specifics we haven't covered here, email us and a human will answer.
Questions we get asked
- Does ExcelSurge upload my workbook?
- No. Formatting, tracing, auditing and workbook comparison all run inside Excel on your own machine. There is no feature that sends a workbook to us, because we never built one.
- Which standards do you build to?
- We follow the practices behind SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 27001, using ISO/IEC 27002 as the control reference: least-privilege access, encryption in transit, data minimisation and local-first processing. These describe how the product is built and operated.
- What do you actually store about me?
- An account record, your licence and subscription state, and which devices you have activated. Never workbook contents, cell values, sheet names or file names.
- Can I turn telemetry off?
- It is off until you turn it on. When enabled it reports only which feature ran, plus an anonymous device id, never anything from your model.
- Does it work without a network connection?
- Yes. The tools themselves need no connection; only licence activation and renewal do, and your licence is a signed token your copy validates on its own.
Fast, native, and yours alone.
The formatting, tracing, and auditing you do every day, 10x faster, without a single cell leaving your machine.