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Why does the Google Geocoding API work without key?

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?

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Jinetala Avatar asked Oct 29 '15 17:10

Jinetala


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1 Answers

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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François Avatar answered Sep 19 '22 17:09

François