TabBar for Excel

1. Data collection

TabBar for Excel collects no data. It is a sandboxed Mac App Store app with no network access — it makes no connections to us or to any third party, and nothing about you or your workbooks ever leaves your Mac. There are no analytics, no tracking, and no advertising.

2. How TabBar works on your Mac

To show your open workbooks as tabs, TabBar uses macOS Automation (Apple Events) to communicate with Microsoft Excel. It reads the names of your open workbooks, and the file path of each one so that two workbooks with the same name can be told apart, so it can list them in the tab bar; it raises a window when you click its tab. Names and paths are held in memory only, for as long as the workbook is open.

TabBar does not read, store, or transmit the contents of your workbooks. It works only with window titles and window positions, entirely on your Mac. macOS asks for your permission the first time TabBar controls Excel; you can review or revoke it at any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation.

On some Macs, macOS refuses those Apple Events before it ever asks you, and the tab bar cannot reach Excel at all. In that case TabBar offers Grant Permission, which installs a small helper script of its own. Because Apple requires such a script to live in the app's own Application Scripts folder, and a sandboxed app may not write there unaided, macOS shows you a folder panel once; TabBar accepts only that one folder and nothing else you might select. A macOS security-scoped bookmark to it is then stored on your Mac, in the same local settings store as your other preferences, so that an app update does not ask you again. The helper does exactly what the Apple Events above do — list workbook names and paths, and bring one to the front. It is written by TabBar, regenerated on every launch, reads nothing else on your Mac, and is removed with the app.

3. Personal information

TabBar requires no account, no sign-in, and no email address. We do not ask for, collect, or store any personal information.

4. Purchases

TabBar for Excel was removed from sale on the Mac App Store on 18 September 2026. On the store, Excel is now covered by TabBar for Office, one app for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. This policy still describes the App Store build for everyone who already has it installed: that build is free for up to three tabs, with a one-time in-app purchase to remove the limit, and all purchases are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never see or store your payment details, card information, or billing address. Restoring a purchase is handled by Apple using your Apple Account.

TabBar for Excel is still sold as a direct download from tabbar.io. That is a different build — it is not sandboxed, it uses the macOS Accessibility API rather than Automation, and it is licensed through Lemon Squeezy rather than Apple, so it makes network connections that the App Store build does not. It is covered by its own privacy policy at tabbar.io/privacy.

5. Settings stored on your device

Your preferences — such as whether TabBar launches at login and whether the bar is shown or hidden — are stored locally on your Mac in the standard system settings store (UserDefaults). This stays on your device and is removed when you delete the app.

6. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page, with the "Last updated" date above revised accordingly.