We count keys. Never cells

Axiom Forge records how the tool is used, so the shortcuts you reach for get better and the ones that break get fixed

What we record

Which shortcut firedIts keys, how fast it ran from the key press, and whether it worked. When one fails, Excel’s own error message, which names the command.
A panel left openWhich menu, how deep, and for how long, so we can see where the ribbon’s order loses people.
The panel’s searchHow many letters you typed. Never the letters.
The appIts version, the version of macOS, the Mac’s chip and language, and a random id for each session.
The TracerCounts only: how many cells were traced, how many steps, which tabs, and how long the pane was open.
Your starsThe shortcuts you star, where in the app you starred them, and the list of what is starred, once a day.
SetupWhich setup screens you see and finish, and the seconds on each. Never anything you type there.
Your MacA random id for each Mac, so your history adds up across the Macs you sign in on, and nothing counts twice.

Your spreadsheetsNo cell contents: no values, no formulas, no text.
Your filesNo file names, sheet names or workbook paths.
The rest of your MacNo clipboard, and no keystrokes outside the panel: nothing you type in Excel or in other apps.

Enforced in code, not only promised: no event has a field that could carry a file name, and the server refuses any field outside a fixed list.

Google or Microsoft sign-inThat account’s id, email and name, so a failure report belongs to a real install.
Your profileThe first and last name you give in Settings, and which version of the beta terms you accepted, and when.
How you heard of usIf you answer in setup: a short code, and up to 80 characters if you pick Somewhere else and type where.
Your workIf you say what best describes it, in setup or in Settings: one of the answers offered, as a short code.
InvitesOnly if you use them: your invite code, and the code you joined with. Neither side sees the other’s name, email or use.
The Tracer’s linkOne record that signs the Tracer in through the app. It lapses after 7 days, and signing out deletes it.
Where it goesGoogle Firebase, in a project run by the app’s author. Your dashboard’s history is kept with your account, so it is the same on every Mac you sign in on. Two accounts on one Mac never see each other’s.
TotalsTotals across at least five people, never a name or an email, may be shown to other people using Axiom Forge: how many people in a role star a shortcut, for example.

Always onOnce you accept the beta terms, usage is recorded whenever the app is used. Before that, nothing is sent: a setup answer waits until you accept.
OfflineIt works offline for 30 days at a time, and sends what it recorded once you are back online.
The termsIn the app, under Settings ▸ Data & Privacy.

Visitsaxiomforgeapp.com uses Google Analytics to count visits: which pages are read, which link brought you here, and your rough location, device and browser. It also notes scrolling, and clicks that leave the site or download a file. It sets cookies in your browser for that.
Invite codesAn invite code in the address is taken out before anything is sent to Google.
Only the websiteThe app never loads Google Analytics, and nothing from Excel reaches it.
Google’s sideHow Google uses what it receives: Google’s own notice.
Turning it offA tracker or ad blocker stops it, and the site works the same.

On your MacEvents not yet sent wait in ~/Library/Application Support/AxiomForge/events.ndjson. You can delete that file at any time.
On our sideTo have your events and your account deleted, write to contact@axiomforgeapp.com.
How longRaw events are kept while the project is in active development. Totals, which contain no single event, are kept.