Frequently asked questions

Is DataTray really free? Yes. It is funded by sharing a slice of your device's idle internet bandwidth while it runs — never your files or personal data. See The bandwidth exchange.

Are my files uploaded anywhere? No. Every read, conversion, deduplication, cleaning run and comparison happens on your own device. That is also why there is no file-size cap and no row limit.

Does DataTray change my original file? Never. Every tile writes a new file into its own output subfolder, and no output ever replaces an existing one. See Where your files are saved.

Why can't I double-click a CSV to open it in DataTray? DataTray deliberately claims no file associations and adds no right-click menu item, so it does not take .csv away from Excel or your editor. Drag the file in, or use the file picker.

How big a file can it open? DataTray is built to open files far larger than Excel can — a multi-gigabyte CSV, a forty-sheet workbook, a folder of Parquet parts. There is no configured row or size limit. The honest limits are your disk and your patience.

Where did my files go? Into your output folder, in a per-utility subfolder. Open or reveal any result directly from the Job Queue, or change and reveal the root folder in Settings ▸ General.

Does anything download the first time I use a tile? No. DataTray is the first app in this family where no utility needs a separate binary, model or engine. Everything ships in the installer.

Is the anonymization GDPR-compliant? That is a question about your process, not about a button. DataTray is precise about what each action does: only drop and redact actually anonymise. Mask, hash and tokenize are pseudonymisation, and generalize reduces precision without guaranteeing anonymity. The panel and the report state this per action. Read Clean & Anonymize before treating any output as anonymous.

Does the personal-data detection find everything? No, and it does not claim to. It is a rule-based suggestion that you confirm before anything is written. Check the columns it did not flag as well as the ones it did.

Is any of this AI? No. Every rule, every detection and every lookup table runs offline on your own machine, and the enrichment tables are versioned CSV files that ship inside the app.

Can I close the window without stopping my work? Yes. Closing hides the app to the tray and jobs keep running. Only Quit DataTray from the tray menu fully stops the app.

Can DataTray process files automatically as they land in a folder? No. DataTray runs only when you press Run. Save the sequence you repeat as a recipe and run it on the day's files — that is the whole automation story here, and it is deliberate: nothing touches a data file you did not hand over.

How do I turn a utility off? Settings ▸ Utilities — switch one off to hide it from the sidebar.

How do I stop bandwidth sharing entirely? Turn Share idle bandwidth off (the utilities go with it), quit the app from the tray, or uninstall to end participation permanently.