I have a server which acts as a mesh.
I have 3 mobile apps, each having it's own google maps api Key
all three apps call my server which calls the google apis with the specific app key.
so App1 has key1
App2 has Key 2
App3 has key 3
when I need the directions for App1, my server calls google api with key 1
when I need the directions for App2, my server calls google api with key 2
when I need the directions for App3, my server calls google api with key 3
So my server works like an API mesh. Is this against google terms? I am afraid they will look at the ip address of the server, see there are 3 keys used and assume I am using different Keys for same applications which is prohibited.
The short answer (drawn from the FAQ) is quite simply : no, you can't use two keys in this case.
See https://developers.google.com/maps/faq#usage_avoidance
- they even reserve "the right to withhold access to the maps API from any site" doing so, just as you feared.
Using more than one key, even though it could only be a matter of convenience for you, means for them trying to cheat and bypass the limitation of 25,000 requests per day and per service. And they don't like that, because they want big users of their maps API to pay, of course. Prices are listed on the same page.
You should read the FAQ paragraphs "Understanding the Terms of Service" and "Usage limits" completely - it is quite short but sometimes a little tricky. You'll see that there are a few situations in which you do not actually have to pay even when exceeding limitations :
you are using the google earth API
you are using a native maps API from a mobile platform
you are showing a google map through an embed only
your apps are "in the public interest (as determined by Google at its discretion)"
Also, you do not always need to provide an API key, though these products may still be available for limited use only : take for instance the geocoding API.
I guess you're not in one of those cases (at least bullets 2 and 3) since your calls transit through your server. Using the native APIs in mobile apps would solve the problem, but it does mean quite some development I guess.
It is also worth noting that you should apply for a special maps API for business license for some use cases, e.g. when only paying users get to see your map.
In conclusion, you need to have one single google maps API key when it comes to using their products that require one. Or rather, at most one per domain name.
Related
I have a Web Application, which is hosted under a domain (say www.xx.com) and I have activated Google Map Account (say, MyAccount) for that Application as well. The Google Map Key under MyAccount; I have enabled for JavaScript Map API and Geocoding API only. There is another option in that Application, which uses Places API, which I haven't enabled due to the heavy costing for that what google have. But, one of my client want to use the Places API option and they have suggested me that to use Client Google Map Account (say, ClientAccount) for that particular Option; where I'll use their Map Key (under ClientAccount) while they sign-in into the Application. So, the following questions became relevant;
-Is it possible to use Dynamic Map Key under one Project?
Is there any violation of Terms? if yes,
- What is the alternative I can suggest to the client to achieve this requirement?
NB: I cannot make another instance of the application to host for the client as my services are under SaaS model.
Thanks,
Shenulal
Yes this should be possible, just send the customer's key with your Places API requests, and make sure they whitelist your domain in their key restrictions.
One of our customers is using google maps with a "Client ID". We've developed our product using the Google API Key. All of the features of the map are working properly using the API key, but we are unable to confirm that the client will get the same results with the Client ID since we do not have one. Two question, do you believe that the features will work the same using either the API or the Client ID? Second question, how much does it cost to purchase a Client ID?
Client IDs and API Keys are forms of authentication and authorization. There are easy-to-follow guidelines on their proper usage and their limits. Everything you need to know about them can be found in the documentation (also try seeing the docs per product in the 'For more information' section):
https://developers.google.com/maps/premium/overview#authentication_and_authorization
Related SO post and answer about using Client IDs for their Javascript API:
google maps api javascript usage
For pricing, read more about it here:
https://developers.google.com/maps/pricing-and-plans/
EDIT: There has been recent Google Maps Platform pricing and product changes You'll always need an API key and a valid billing account associated to your Project if you want to use the Google Maps Platform APIs. If you've never had a Client ID then you don't need to worry about it, just continue using your API keys.
You may run into some APIs (i.e. Speed Limits API) that seem to need a Premium Plan account. If you really need access to these, simply contact sales using this form.
P.S.
When using API keys, be sure to properly restrict them!
So, I have bought a key from google for translation; I'm using it and it works as expected. Now there 's another requirement from client to use google maps in his application. Should I have to buy another key for the google map application, or is there anything like a master api key which'll work for all google applications?
Different APIs have different requirements for monitoring and managing usage. Depending on your use case you may or may not have to pay for using Google Maps. And no, there is no master API key that gives you access to all Google APIs.
I saw that one has not to obtain a Google Maps API key if you want to use their maps api in general, only if you want to use their web services and statistics etc.
Now I have two questions regarding this:
If I have a public website which uses the Google Maps API to display a map with default options. How does Google count the API calls if I don't use an API key? (Maybe with the help of the domain which requests the map?)
If they do so and my site exceeds the 25k calls/day, is there a possiblity that my users can login with their Google account on my site and some backend logic will get them an API key from Google that I store e.g. in a database. So I could use the API keys of my users to bypass the API usage limits only for my site.
Assuming you are using the Javascript API v3:
This SO question partially answers your queries.
Have a look at the usage limits, it looks like that you cannot use more than one API key:
Can I use more than one API key to increase my available usage over
the documented limits?
Google reserves the right to withhold access to the Maps API from any site that attempts to use more than the permitted number of map
loads of the Maps API without permission, and fails to respond when
contacted by Google.
Though this may be debatable, to me it seems a bad idea using your user's API key. For sure you need to ask the permission, then you have to monitor their quotas and so on, a minefield...
TL;DR if you exceed constantly the daily quota you should purchase a larger quota.
I'm using Google Maps web services to perform server-side (reverse) geocoding.
I've got a browser-side and server-side Google API key from the Google APIs Console, which permits the Google Maps JS API to use higher request quotas, and enables pay-per-use for overages (successfully tested in-browser via JS). But the server-side key doesn't seem to work on web services requests.
For example, this URL works fine:
http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?sensor=true&latlng=43.477329,-80.548601
But if you add a "key=..." parameter, as in the other APIs, I get a REQUEST_DENIED status.
Am I doing something wrong, or is this just not supported on the web services APIs (yet)? Will it be supported in the future?
See also
request_denied when i include key=my_api_key
Nope, you're not doing anything wrong.
Unfortunately, enforcing tight limits on the Google Geocoding API, also called "Server-Side Geocoding", is Google's design. If your app needs more than 2,500 Server-Side Geocodes per day, then you'll need to upgrade to their Google Maps API for Business product.
Hold on, it gets worse.
If your app's server IP address is shared with other apps, that 2,500 request daily limit applies to ALL of them. This includes apps that share the same server IP address as you, but don't belong to you! This can be a common situation with any PaaS, like Google App Engine or Heroku. So, even if your app works flawlessly today, there is no guarantee that it's still going to work tomorrow.
In the article, "Geocoding Strategies", Google indicates the solution is to "almost always" use "Client-Side Geocoding" via the Geocoding Service, part of the Google Maps JavaScript API V3. The primary reason is that limits are enforced per user, per session. Requests like this shouldn't run up against quota limits unless you're executing geocode batches on the client (not a typical use case).
One golden nugget from the "Geocoding Strategies" article: Design a page that takes user input, calls the client-side Geocode service method, then passes that information to your server app where it can be processed, and hopefully cached. This is FAR from ideal, but if upgrading to Google Maps API for Business isn't an option, it might be the only way to go.
Good luck!
According to this post, your API key should work as one of the three option for requests over 25,000 loads per day.
https://developers.google.com/maps/faq#usagelimits