Elara-Cortex · Johannesburg, South Africa · Last updated 4 June 2026
These terms govern your use of the Elara Route website, map and routing API (the “Service”), operated by Elara-Cortex (“we”, “us”), the trading name of its founder Kgomotso Lekola (legal contact at legal@elara-cortex.com). By using the Service you agree to these terms.
Responsible party (POPIA) and operator: Kgomotso Lekola, trading as Elara-Cortex, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. For a postal address or written legal notice, email legal@elara-cortex.com and we will provide the current postal details for service. See the Contact section for our full details and the Information Regulator reference.
You are responsible for keeping your API key and account credentials secure and for all activity under them. Tell us at once if you suspect unauthorised use.
We provide route planning, multi-stop optimisation, live re-routing, distance matrices and place search. We work to keep the Service available and accurate, but it is provided “as is” to the extent permitted by law. We may change, suspend or improve features over time and will give reasonable notice of material changes that affect you.
Each plan has request-rate and volume limits. We may rate-limit, suspend or revoke access that threatens the stability, security or lawful operation of the Service.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the fees you paid us for it in the three months before the claim. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded by law.
These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the courts of South Africa have jurisdiction, without affecting any mandatory consumer rights in your own country.
Paid plans target 99.9% monthly availability for the routing API, measured on successful responses to valid requests and excluding scheduled maintenance (notified in advance) and events outside our reasonable control. Where a paid month falls below this target, you may request a service credit against your next invoice. Specific availability targets, support response times and credit schedules for Enterprise plans are set out in your order or contract. Trial and free entitlements are provided without an availability commitment. Questions: legal@elara-cortex.com.
This policy explains what personal information we process and why. It is designed to meet the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA, South Africa), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, EU/UK) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA). For EU/UK and POPIA purposes, Elara-Cortex is the responsible party / data controller.
| Category | What & why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Account | Email, password (hashed), optional phone, to create your account and issue an API key. | Contract |
| Location you enter | Search terms and the coordinates you route, to return directions. We do not sell location data. | Contract / consent |
| Device location (GPS) | Only when you switch on “Use my location” for live navigation. Processed to guide you; not stored against your identity. | Consent |
| Usage analytics | Anonymous, app-generated identifier and event counts, only after you accept analytics, to improve the Service. | Consent |
| Voice feedback | Audio you choose to record, plus its transcript and the place it was given, to fix the issue you report. | Consent |
We keep account data while your account is active. Anonymous analytics and voice feedback are kept for up to 12 months and then deleted or aggregated. You can ask us to delete your data sooner (see Your Data Rights).
Data is processed in South Africa and by the sub-processors listed below, some of which operate outside your country. Where we transfer EU/UK personal data, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the Standard Contractual Clauses.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not run third-party advertising trackers. We do not share your routes or locations except with the routing/mapping providers needed to answer your request.
We use a small amount of browser storage to make the Service work:
We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
Under POPIA, GDPR and CCPA you may:
To exercise any right, email privacy@elara-cortex.com. We respond within the time the law allows. You also have the right to complain to the South African Information Regulator or your local data-protection authority.
We use trusted providers to deliver the Service. Each receives only the data needed for its task.
| Provider | Purpose |
|---|---|
| OpenStreetMap / OSRM | Road network & routing |
| TomTom | Live traffic & geocoding |
| Nominatim · Photon · Overpass (OSM) | Place & address search |
| OpenAI | Transcribing the voice feedback you record |
| DeepSeek | Understanding mis-typed or mis-heard searches |
| Paystack | Payment processing |
| Hosting provider | Secure hosting of the Service |
If you use the API to process personal data of your own users, you are the controller and we are your processor. We process that data only on your instructions, keep it confidential, secure it appropriately, help you meet your own obligations, and delete or return it on request. A full Data Processing Addendum is available on request at legal@elara-cortex.com.
8.1 Cancelling a plan. You can cancel a paid plan at any time from your account or by emailing hello@elara-cortex.com. Cancellation stops the next renewal; your plan stays active until the end of the period you have already paid for. We do not pro-rate or refund the unused part of a current paid period, except where clause 8.2 or the law requires it.
8.2 Free trial, and when we refund. Elara Route is sold as a flat monthly subscription with a free-trial period first. The trial carries no charge: if you cancel before the trial ends, you are not billed. Billing only begins when the subscription starts after the trial.
8.3 How to ask for a refund. Email hello@elara-cortex.com within 7 days of the charge, with your account email and the reason. We aim to reply within 2 business days and to settle valid refunds within 10 business days, back to your original payment method.
8.4 Disputes & chargebacks. If you are unhappy, please contact us first, most issues are resolved quickly. We keep a signed receipt and a log for every billed call, and we will share the relevant records with you. If a chargeback or payment dispute is raised with your bank or card provider before you have contacted us and given us a fair chance to resolve it, we may suspend the account while the dispute is open, and we reserve the right to contest the chargeback with our transaction and usage evidence. Where a dispute is upheld in your favour we refund promptly; where it is not, normal billing resumes. This clause does not limit your statutory rights in clause 8.2.
Elara-Cortex (trading name of Kgomotso Lekola) · Johannesburg, South Africa
General: hello@elara-cortex.com · Privacy: privacy@elara-cortex.com · Legal: legal@elara-cortex.com
For a postal address or written legal notice, email legal@elara-cortex.com and we will provide the current postal details for service.
As the responsible party under POPIA, our Information Officer can be reached at privacy@elara-cortex.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa): The Information Regulator, JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001 · enquiries@inforegulator.org.za · POPIA complaints: POPIAComplaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za · inforegulator.org.za.
We review and update these terms as the Service grows. Material changes will be notified on this page with a new “last updated” date.