Last updated: 18 October 2026
Forgotten Routes is made by UpdateMe (PTY) LTD (“we”, “us”), a South African company. This policy explains what we collect when you use the Forgotten Routes app on iPhone, Android, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and car head units, why, and the choices you have. We process personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
What we collect
- Account: your display name, and the email address or phone number of the sign-in you choose (Apple, Google or phone number). You can use the app without an account until you choose one.
- Location: your precise location while the app is open, and in the background only while a journey or blaze you started is on. We use it for turn-by-turn guidance, to record the route you drive, and to claim territory for your crew.
- Your content: photos, voice notes, story pins, journal text, journey covers, crew names and the details of the cars in your garage.
- Voice: what you say when you ask the co-pilot a question.
- Crew activity: the crews you belong to, the journeys you join, votes, and the territory you claim.
- Device and diagnostics: device model, operating system, app version, crash reports and performance data, and a notification token so we can send you crew messages.
How we use it
- To run the app: guidance, recording drives, territory, journals, crews and the leaderboards.
- To answer your questions through the co-pilot.
- To keep the app working and safe: fixing crashes, preventing cheating and abuse, and handling reports.
- To contact you about your account or a report you made.
We do not sell your personal information, we do not show ads, and we do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites.
The AI co-pilot
Laura and Indy, the co-pilots, are powered by xAI (Grok). When you ask a question, we send your question, or the recording of it, and the area you are in to xAI to make the answer and its voice. The app asks for your permission before it does this for the first time, and you can turn it off in Settings. xAI processes this for us under contract and may not use it for its own purposes.
Who sees your information
- Your crew sees your name, your position on the map during a shared journey, and what you add to a shared journal.
- A log you share is seen by the people you choose: your crew, your friends or everyone. Leaderboards show your display name and your crew’s territory.
- Service providers who process data for us under contract: Google (Firebase: sign-in, database, storage, notifications, crash reports and hosting), HERE Technologies (maps, search and routing) and xAI (the co-pilot’s answers and voice).
- The authorities, if South African law requires it.
Where it is stored
Your account, trips, content and location data are stored on Google Firebase servers in the European Union (the europe-west region). Some of our service providers process data in other countries, including the United States: xAI for the co-pilot, HERE Technologies for maps, search and routing, and Firebase for crash reports and notifications. We only use providers bound by agreements that protect your information to the standard POPIA requires.
How long we keep it
We keep your account and content until you delete them or your account. Crash reports are kept for up to 90 days. Backups are overwritten within 30 days of a deletion.
Your choices and rights
- Location, microphone, camera and photos are each asked for separately, and you can change them in your phone’s settings at any time.
- Delete your account in the app: Profile, Delete account. This removes you from your crews and deletes your trips and driving history. Without the app: forgottenroutes.co.za/delete-account
- You may ask to see, correct or delete your personal information, or object to how we use it, by emailing support@forgottenroutes.co.za.
- You may complain to the Information Regulator of South Africa (inforegulator.org.za).
Children
Forgotten Routes is made for drivers and their passengers. It is not meant for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.
Security
Information is encrypted between the app and our servers, and access is limited to the people who need it to run the service.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and tell you in the app when the change matters.
This website
This policy also covers our website, forgottenroutes.co.za:
- Visits. Google Analytics counts visits and pages read, using cookies (_ga), so we can see in aggregate what people read. Our security software logs IP addresses to block attacks. There are no advertising cookies or tracking pixels, and no cookie wall.
- Forms. When you request a place on an expedition, send a partner enquiry or join a waiting list, we keep what you send so a person can reply, for up to two years after we last spoke.
- Trip planner. The planner sends place names and trip details to Google Maps Platform and to Anthropic (Claude) to work out routes, costs and a packing list. Documents you upload for a travel affidavit are read once and not stored, and your travel pack is made in your own browser.
- Expedition guests. The details we need to host you, including any dietary, health or emergency-contact information you choose to give us for your safety, which we delete within three months of the expedition.
The website is hosted in South Africa.
Contact
UpdateMe (PTY) LTD, Information Officer: Carlo Oehl. Email: support@forgottenroutes.co.za. Address: Garden Route, Western Cape, South Africa.