How Shape handles your data

Your files stay in your browser

Files you open are read and changed entirely on your computer. They’re never uploaded to us. Your changes and recipes are saved in this browser too, unless you download them as a file. When a recipe combines your file with another one (a lookup file, like a customer list), a copy of that file is kept in this browser so the next run can use it. Deleting the recipe deletes the copy.

What the AI sees

When you use chat or “Ask AI to review”, we send the AI a summary of the data: column names and types, counts, common values, and a few sample rows, plus what you type. It goes to OpenAI through our server, which doesn’t keep it.

Turn on Strict privacy under the chat and no values are sent at all: only column names, types, counts and the shape of values (for example “99/99/9999” for a date), plus what you type. Rerunning a saved recipe never uses the AI.

What we record to improve Shape

• What you do in the app, like “uploaded a CSV”, “applied a change” or “exported to Excel”, with rough sizes (e.g. “1k–10k rows”).
• Your answers to the optional questions: where the file is from, what you do, and after an export, how often you get a file like it and where it goes next.
• What you type into chat and whether it worked, so we can see what people need. You can turn this off with “Don’t save what I type” under the chat box.
• Which site or ad brought you here, and your rough country.

We never record file contents, cell values, sample rows or file names. You’re identified only by a random id stored in your browser.

Interview requests

If you ask for a call, we keep your email and the details you give only to arrange it.