I'm reading the documentation for the Google Geocoding API, and I noticed that it says that a key is required in a geocoding request, but when I do "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=LosAngeles,usa" it gives me the expected result.
Why is this? Is the documentation wrong? Will it start asking for the key after a certain amount of requests? Or is there something I'm not understanding?
API keys are required for apps and projects that use the Google Maps Platform APIs and SDKs.
The Google Geocoding API has the following limits in place: Users of the free API: 2,500 requests per 24 hour period.
The API key is a unique identifier that authenticates requests associated with your project for usage and billing purposes. You must have at least one API key associated with your project. Go to the Google Maps Platform > Credentials page. On the Credentials page, click Create credentials > API key.
Some Google APIs charge for usage, and you need to enable billing before you can start using these APIs. Enabling billing for the APIs that your projects use also has other advantages: Some APIs allow free usage up to a courtesy usage limit, and in some cases this free limit is increased when you enable billing.
Providing a key is not required for most geocoding API requests. When you do not provide a key, Google will use an IP-based quota to determine when you reach the 2,500-queries daily limit.
Some parameters require a key and will not allow IP-based quota. These are explicitly marked in the documentation with:
Note: This parameter is available only for requests that include an API key or a client ID.
Currently, this is only for two parameters in reverse geocoding: result_type
and location_type
.
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