Terms of Service

1. Agreement to terms

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) form a binding agreement between you (“you,” “your”) and Horan Technologies PLC (“HotSpot,” “we,” “our”), a private limited company organised under the laws of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in respect of your use of the HotSpot website at hotspot.et and the HotSpot mobile applications for iOS and Android (together, the “Service”).

By creating an account, downloading the app, or otherwise accessing the Service, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old (or the higher minimum age of digital consent in your jurisdiction) to create an account. If you are under the age of majority in your country, you may use the Service only with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.

You represent that you have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement and that your use of the Service does not violate any law applicable to you.

3. Your account

• You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete registration information and to keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for safeguarding your password and for all activity that occurs under your account.
• You agree to notify us promptly at [email protected] of any unauthorised access or use.
• We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, that are inactive for an extended period, or that we reasonably suspect of fraud or abuse.

4. Licence to use the Service

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Service for your personal, non-commercial use. You may not:

• Copy, modify, adapt, translate, reverse-engineer, decompile, or create derivative works from the Service.
• Sell, rent, lease, sublicense, or otherwise commercially exploit the Service or any portion of it without our prior written consent.
• Remove or obscure any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notice.
• Use the Service to build a competing product, train a machine-learning model on our content without permission, or scrape data in a manner that exceeds normal usage.

5. User content

You retain ownership of the photos, reviews, posts, comments, lists, and other content you submit to the Service (“User Content”). You grant HotSpot a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, store, reproduce, modify (only for formatting and presentation), publicly display, and distribute your User Content for the limited purpose of operating, providing, and improving the Service.

You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to all User Content you submit, and that the content does not infringe any third-party rights or violate any applicable law.

We may remove User Content that violates these Terms or that we reasonably consider unlawful, harmful, or inappropriate, without prior notice.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable Ethiopian law or any law applicable to you.
• Harass, threaten, defame, or impersonate any person, or post hate speech or content that incites violence.
• Submit false reviews, fake bookings, or otherwise manipulate ratings or rankings.
• Upload malware, attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of our systems, or interfere with their operation.
• Send unsolicited promotional messages to other users.
• Misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.

7. Bookings, payments, and third-party services

When you book a tour, guide, or other service through HotSpot, you enter into a contract with the provider of that service. HotSpot acts as a discovery and connection platform; we are not the principal of bookings unless explicitly stated, and we do not guarantee the quality, safety, or availability of any third-party service.

Payments may be processed by third-party payment providers; their terms and privacy policies apply in addition to ours. Refund and cancellation policies are set by the provider unless we publish a HotSpot-wide policy on the booking page.

Listings on HotSpot may include integrations with Google Places, OpenStreetMap, and similar data sources. We make reasonable efforts to keep information accurate but do not warrant it.

8. Intellectual property

The Service, including all software, design, logos, text, graphics, and other content provided by HotSpot (excluding User Content), is owned by Horan Technologies PLC or its licensors and is protected by Ethiopian and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws.

“HotSpot,” the HotSpot logo, and related marks are trademarks of Horan Technologies PLC. You may not use them without our prior written permission.

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, contact [email protected] with: (i) identification of the copyrighted work, (ii) the URL of the allegedly infringing content, (iii) your contact information, and (iv) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised.

9. Third-party content and removal requests

Non-ownership. The Service contains “Third-Party Content,” including but not limited to images, photographs, place descriptions, business listings, logos, brand names, addresses, opening hours, ratings, reviews, and other materials sourced from third-party data providers (such as the Google Places API, OpenStreetMap, partner businesses, and individual contributors) or indexed from publicly accessible web pages. HotSpot does not own, control, or claim copyright in Third-Party Content. All rights in Third-Party Content remain with the original rights holders.

No accuracy or legality warranty. Third-Party Content is provided on an “as is” basis. HotSpot is not responsible for, and makes no representation or warranty regarding, the accuracy, completeness, reliability, lawfulness, or safety of any Third-Party Content. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, HotSpot is not liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on, or inability to use, Third-Party Content. Inclusion of a place, business, or item on the Service does not constitute endorsement.

DMCA / copyright takedown. HotSpot respects the intellectual-property rights of others and responds to good-faith claims of infringement. If you believe Third-Party Content (or any other content on the Service) infringes a copyright you own or are authorised to enforce, please submit a takedown notice via hotspot.et/request-removal or by email to [email protected]. A complete notice should include:

• your physical or electronic signature and contact information (full legal name, postal address, telephone, email);
• identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed (or, if multiple works are covered, a representative list);
• the specific URL(s) on the Service of the allegedly infringing material so we can locate it;
• a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the rights holder, its agent, or the law;
• a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the rights holder or authorised to act on the rights holder’s behalf.

Upon receipt of a complete notice, HotSpot will (i) acknowledge the request, (ii) review the claim, and (iii) where the claim is substantiated, expeditiously remove or disable access to the identified content. Repeat infringers’ accounts will be terminated where applicable.

Counter-notice. If your content has been removed and you believe the removal was the result of a mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notice to [email protected] including: your contact details; identification of the removed content and its URL before removal; a statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good-faith belief the content was removed in error; and consent to the jurisdiction of the competent courts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (and, where applicable, the courts of your local residence).

Privacy and other concerns. Removal requests on grounds of privacy, identifiable persons, doxxing, defamation, or trademark misuse may also be submitted via hotspot.et/request-removal with the relevant supporting facts. We aim to acknowledge requests within 3-5 business days and to act on substantiated requests promptly.

False claims. Submitting a knowingly false takedown or counter-notice may result in liability for damages and costs under applicable law, in addition to suspension of the submitter’s use of the Service.

10. Privacy

Our handling of personal data is governed by the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using the Service you confirm that you have read and accept the Privacy Policy.

11. Service availability and changes

We provide the Service on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We may add, remove, or change features, set or change limits on use, and suspend or discontinue any part of the Service at any time. Where the change is material and adverse to existing users, we will give reasonable advance notice by email or in-app notice.

12. Disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, HotSpot disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or that any defects will be corrected.

Travel involves risk. We do not guarantee the accuracy of destination information, the safety of any place, or the conduct of any third-party guide or partner. You are responsible for your own travel decisions and should consult official sources, including your government’s travel advisory, before travelling.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, HotSpot, its officers, directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising under or in connection with these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you paid to HotSpot in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) ETB 5,000.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law (including for fraud, gross negligence, or wilful misconduct).

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold HotSpot harmless from any claim, demand, damages, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from (a) your User Content, (b) your use of the Service, (c) your breach of these Terms, or (d) your violation of any third-party right or applicable law.

15. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service if you breach these Terms, if required by law, or to protect the integrity of the Service. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including “Intellectual property,” “Third-party content and removal requests,” “Disclaimers,” “Limitation of liability,” “Indemnification,” and “Governing law”) will survive.

16. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

The parties will first attempt to resolve any dispute amicably by good-faith negotiation. If a dispute cannot be resolved within 30 days of written notice, the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking interim or injunctive relief from any court of competent jurisdiction.

For users resident in the European Union, mandatory consumer-protection rights under your country’s law remain unaffected.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date and for significant changes affecting registered users notify you at least 14 days before the change takes effect, by email or in-app notice. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

18. Miscellaneous

• Entire agreement. These Terms and the Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and HotSpot regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements.
• Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of that right or provision.
• Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• No agency. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, agency, or employment relationship between you and HotSpot.
• Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, war, civil unrest, government action, or internet outages.

19. Contact us

For questions about these Terms or to send legal notices:

• Email: [email protected]
• Help Center: hotspot.et/help-center
• Company: Horan Technologies PLC, Bole Sub-City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia