1. Introduction
Extreme XL is a trade name of Integrated Executive Advisors LLC, an Ohio limited liability company ("we," "our," or "us"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit our website extremexl.com, and what the Extreme XL Tools software sends from your computer and when. Extreme XL Tools is a Windows add-in for Microsoft Excel, together with a set of worksheet functions. The website and the software are together the "Services."
The short version: the software sends no usage telemetry, no analytics, and no crash reports. It does not watch what you do and report it back to us. It reaches the network only for the specific actions listed in Section 2.2, and each of those is either something you started or the license check that keeps your copy activated.
Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site or use our services.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Give Us
We collect information that you provide directly when you:
- Purchase a license on our website
- Request a free trial from inside the software
- Create or use an account on our website
- Contact us by email or through a contact form
- Submit a support request or send us a support package
That information may include:
- Contact Information: Name, email address, and anything else you choose to tell us
- Account Credentials: Username and password for a website account (passwords are stored hashed, never in plain text)
- Payment Information: Handled entirely by Stripe on our website. We never see or store card numbers, and the software never sees them at all
- License Information: License keys, activation dates, product edition, and the email address the license was issued to
- Communication Data: The messages, files, and support packages you send us
2.2 What the Software Sends, and When
Extreme XL Tools collects no usage telemetry, no analytics, and no crash reports. Nothing leaves your computer except in the situations below.
- License activation and revalidation: When you activate the software, it sends your license key to Keygen (api.keygen.sh), the licensing service we use, to confirm the key is valid. The result is stored on your own PC in the Windows registry. While your PC is online, the software repeats that check in the background about once a day. Only the license key and the licensing service's answer are involved.
- Free trial request: If you start a trial from the activation dialog, the email address you type is sent to our function at iea-license-webhooks.azurewebsites.net, which creates a trial license in Keygen and emails the key to that address through SendGrid. The email address is stored on the license record.
- Update check: The software downloads a small version file from our Azure Blob Storage at iealicensestorage.blob.core.windows.net to see whether a newer version exists. No personal data is sent. As with any web request, the request carries your IP address.
- Help links: The Help button on the ribbon opens extremexl.com with a token that changes daily, so the help pages know the request came from a licensed copy. No personal data is sent.
- AI features (optional, and off until you set them up): You choose the provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including a model running on your own machine) and supply your own API key. When you run an AI tool or an exl_AI_ worksheet function, the text or formula you selected is sent to the provider you chose, under that provider's own terms and privacy policy. In the Outlook companion, the business card image you are reading is sent the same way. None of it passes through us. We do not receive the content, the results, or your API key.
- Report a Problem: Nothing is sent automatically. If you choose to build a support package, the software creates a zip of its log files and settings, and you send it to us yourself by email. That log can include cell values the tools worked with, the trial email address, the first characters of your license key, and, in the Outlook companion, message subjects and parsed contact details. Look at the file before you send it.
2.3 Information the Software Keeps on Your Computer
The software stores the following on your own PC. None of it is sent to us:
- Settings and presets: A SQLite database in %AppData%\IEAExcelTools, plus files in %AppData%\Extreme XL
- License cache: The result of the last license validation, in the Windows registry under HKCU\Software\Extreme XL
- AI API key: If you configure an AI provider, your key is stored encrypted with Windows DPAPI, readable only by your Windows account on that machine
Uninstalling the software does not delete these. If you want them gone, remove those locations yourself after uninstalling.
2.4 Information the Website Receives Automatically
Like any website, our web server receives the IP address and browser information that your browser sends with each request. The only cookies we set are the two described in Section 4.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- Product Delivery: To process orders, issue license keys, and provide download access
- License Validation: To confirm that a license key is valid and to keep an activated copy working
- Account Management: To create and manage your website account and to control access to licensed help content
- Customer Support: To answer questions and work through problems you report, including any support package you choose to send us
- Communication: To send transactional email such as purchase confirmations, license keys, and trial keys
- Security: To detect fraud, prevent license abuse, and protect the Services
- Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements
We do not analyze how you use the software, because the software does not report that to us.
4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
The software does not use cookies. Our website sets two, and both are functional:
4.1 Cookies We Use
- WordPress login cookies: Set when you sign in to an account on extremexl.com, so the site keeps you signed in as you move between pages
- Help access cookie: Set on the help pages after a valid license key, or after arriving from the software's Help button with a valid token, so the help content stays open to you. It expires after 24 hours
We do not set advertising cookies and we do not run third-party tracking cookies on the site. You can control cookies through your browser settings, but blocking these two means you cannot stay signed in or reach the licensed help pages.
5. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share it only in the following circumstances:
5.1 Service Providers
We use these providers to run the business and deliver the Services. Each receives only what it needs for its own function:
- Stripe: Payment processing for purchases and subscriptions on the website. Card details go to Stripe directly
- Keygen: License issuing and validation. Receives your license key each time the software checks it, and holds the license record, including the email address the license was issued to
- Microsoft Azure: Hosts the function that creates trial licenses, and the blob storage that the software's update check reads
- SendGrid: Delivers transactional email, including the message that carries a trial license key
- Our web host: Hosts extremexl.com and its help content
5.2 AI Providers You Choose
The AI features are off until you configure them. Once you do, the content you send goes from your computer straight to the provider you picked, using your own API key, and is handled under that provider's terms and privacy policy rather than ours. We are not part of those requests and receive nothing from them. If you point the software at a model running on your own machine or network, that content never leaves it.
5.3 Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to:
- Comply with legal obligations
- Protect our rights, property, or safety
- Prevent fraud or abuse
- Respond to law enforcement requests
5.4 Business Transfers
If Extreme XL is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or prominent notice on our website of any change in ownership or use of your personal information.
6. Data Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we hold:
- Encryption in Transit: HTTPS/TLS for the website and for every request the software makes
- Local Key Protection: Your AI provider API key is stored on your PC encrypted with Windows DPAPI, readable only by your Windows account
- Secure Authentication: Password hashing and secure session cookies for website accounts
- Access Controls: Limited access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
7. Data Retention
We keep information only as long as it serves the purpose it was collected for:
- License and Trial Records: Held at Keygen for as long as the license exists, so it can be validated and supported. This includes the email address the license was issued to
- Purchase Records: Kept as long as tax and accounting law requires. Card details are held by Stripe, not by us
- Support Email and Support Packages: Kept while we work your issue and for long enough to handle a follow-up. If you ask us to delete a support package you sent, we will
- Website Account Data: Kept while your account exists, and deleted on request
- Data on Your Computer: Settings, presets, and the cached license result stay on your PC until you delete them. Uninstalling does not remove them
We hold no usage logs of what you do inside the software, because the software does not send any.
8. Your Privacy Rights
8.1 Rights for All Users
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
- Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements)
- Opt-Out: Ask us to stop sending any email that is not required to deliver the product. Transactional email, such as the message carrying your license key, is part of the service itself
- Object: Object to processing of your information for certain purposes
8.2 GDPR Rights (EU/EEA Residents)
If you are located in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Restriction: Request restriction of processing under certain conditions
- Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time (where processing is based on consent)
- Lodge a Complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority
8.3 CCPA Rights (California Residents)
If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):
- Know: Request disclosure of categories and specific pieces of personal information collected
- Delete: Request deletion of personal information
- Opt-Out: Opt-out of sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information)
- Non-Discrimination: Exercise privacy rights without discrimination
8.4 Exercising Your Rights
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected] with "Privacy Request" in the subject line. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
9. International Data Transfers
We operate from the United States, and the providers named in Section 5.1 process information in the United States and in other countries where they operate. Those countries may have data protection laws that differ from your country of residence.
When information is transferred internationally, it is protected by:
- The data protection terms published by each provider we use
- Encryption in transit between your computer, our website, and those providers
- Limiting each provider to the information it needs for its own function
10. Children's Privacy
Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at [email protected], and we will delete such information from our systems.
11. Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
12. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. We will notify you of material changes by:
- Posting the updated policy on our website with a new effective date
- Sending email notification to registered users (for significant changes)
- Displaying a prominent notice on our website
Your continued use of our services after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Acknowledgment: By using our website and services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described herein.
