Am I exposed to Google charges?

  • Resolved dccharron

    (@dccharron)


    2 years, 3 months ago

    I’ve managed to obtain a Google Maps API key to activate your plugin (lite). To obtain the key I had to accept several pages of finely printed Terms and Conditions. I decided to accept the T&C and come back later to try to understand what I had agreed to. I’m shocked to discover that I’ve agreed to being charged hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month. As I understand it, every time someone visits my website and views the map will result in a potential charge. So I’ve had to delete your plugin. I also want to delete the API key from Google Cloud but I can’t figure how to do that. I’m trying to understand Google’s documentation but it requires a PhD in Google Cloud. I don’t really understand it. Can you help me to delete the API key from Google Cloud?

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  • Hi @dccharron,

    Thank you so much for getting in touch.

    Unfortunately, to make use of the Google Maps engine, a Google Maps API key is required which is indeed charged. With that said, the Google Maps team does provide users with a free $200 monthly credit which is usually enough for most websites.

    With that said, you can also switch to the Open Layers mapping engine which is open source and is free of charge. This can be done via the map’s settings area.

    If I might suggest perhaps getting in touch with us directly via our website, one of our agents will be more than happy to try and assist in stepping you through the Google console region.

    Thread Starter dccharron

    (@dccharron)

    Thanks for confirming my exposure to costs.

    I’m aware of the $200/month credit on offer by Google but I have no idea how many hits this would permit because I can’t find any “clear” documentation of how much they charge per hit. Nor do I have any guarantee that the $200/month will continue indefinitely (Google are notorious for suddenly changing their mind without notice).

    Using the Open Layers is a good suggestion. Had I known about charges from Google I might have picked it. But I’ve decided to embed Google’s iframe on offer through the “share” facility. It’s simple and doesn’t require an API key (at least not that I can see).

    As for contacting you via your website, thanks for the offer. I’m not a “Pro” subscriber so assumed that I would not be permitted to get any support. The business I’m doing this work for is a non-profit and I’m trying to keep costs down to a minimum so can’t afford your “Pro” version. Their website gets about 1000 hits per day. So you can see the potential for charges.

    My main worry remains the risk of arbitrary charges from Google. I’ve gone to Google Cloud console and tried to delete “something” (I think they called it a “project”) and the response was that it won’t be deleted for 30 days. I have no idea if that’s all I needed to do. A “project” doesn’t sound like an “API key”.

    Perhaps you should have a warning in your plugin about the potential cost of using Google maps. If you already have one, I missed it completely.

    Hi @dccharron,

    Thank you so much for getting back to me.

    The project can contain multiple API keys so you will want to open that project if possible, then kindly select credentials which should then take you to the API keys for that project. The API keys can then be deleted from here.

    Alternatively, you can also look at removing any billing information associated with that project.

    Feel free to get in touch with us directly as we are more than happy to assist. We will be able to provide a bit more information directly.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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