WTF Google Maps

[Josiah Wallingford]

I just got this message from google.

MY CONSOLE

Hi, Today we are announcing important changes, including our new name - Google Maps Platform, a simplified product structure, pay as you go pricing for all, and more. Please take a few minutes to review the announcement to familiarize yourself with the upcoming changes. We would like to highlight a few updates that may impact your implementation. Beginning June 11th, we are launching our new pricing plan and providing all users access to support. We’ll continue to offer a free tier — all developers will receive $200 of free monthly usage of our core products. In addition, this change will require you to enable billing and associate it with all of your Google Maps Platform projects. Creating a billing account helps us better understand your usage so we can continue developing helpful products. It also allows you to scale easily with less downtime and fewer performance issues if your product grows beyond the $200 of free monthly usage. For additional visibility and control you can set daily quotas or billing alerts. How does this affect your current projects? Project: CommunityIPS4 Based on your project usage over the last 3 months and our new pricing plan, we estimate that your new cost will be less than $200 a month and will be covered by our $200 monthly free credit. This estimate does not include usage from other projects or keyless implementations. We want to support you along the way. Please read our Guide for Existing Users to understand how these changes may impact your account and what steps you need to take. Thank you for using Google Maps Platform. GUIDE FOR EXISTING USERS

[Steph40]

Got it too

[SJ77]

I got this too, I am very concerned about it.

[David..]

Same

[Meddysong]

It'd be interesting to know how usage is charged. If the amount of data required to hit $200 is astronomical, then most people could expect not to have to pay anything. My site, for example, makes such little use of Google Maps that I can't imagine I'll ever come close to seeing a bill. 

[Josiah Wallingford]

I have a google map load right on the home page. Ug. Hopefully you are right and it requires a lot before that $200 cap is hit.

[Meddysong]

You'd think so, wouldn't you? It's not in Google's interest at all to compel small-timers to use alternative products. I remember getting a very pleasant shock when my first Amazon bills came in: $0.02! Fingers crossed that Google has a similar approach here.

[Pandemixx]

Quote

Can I still use Google Maps Platform for free?

Yes. Starting June 11, 2018, when you enable billing, you get $200 free usage every month for Maps, Routes, or Places. Based on the millions of users using our APIs today, around 98% of them can continue to use Google Maps Platform for free with this credit.

(source)

That sounds believable simply for the fact that Google is so big and how widely used the API is.

You can check your usage here. The few sites I use Google Maps on hardly registers a blip on these charts, so I'm not too worried.

[Ramsesx]

1 hour ago, Josiah Wallingford said:

In addition, this change will require you to enable billing and associate it with all of your Google Maps Platform projects

 

2 minutes ago, Pandemixx said:

I wonder what Google gains from causing pandemonium with an announcement like this. ?

They gain all our bank account information as far as I understand it.

[Mopar1973Man]

If it comes down to it I'll just pull the plug on Google Maps. I'm not going to pay for having a map on the site. It's not a requirement for my site. But its a nice add-on bonus. 

[ChrisVanMeer]

Already disabled it. Bad move from Google.

[The Old Man]

I was really surprised by this, Google don't always get it right but are angels compared to some companies, so it's crazy they want your banking details even if you don't reach the threshold! Time for Google to revisit their GDPR policies!

I saw mention of Mapbox in one of the IPS Blogs being lovely details maps, but I think they are also chargeable?

 

 

 

[opentype]

1 hour ago, The Old Man said:

I saw mention of Mapbox in one of the IPS Blogs being lovely details maps, but I think they are also chargeable?

Yes. You get 50,000 views per month for free and you don’t need to add payment details upfront. 
Pro: the maps look really nice. Con: You don’t get auto-complete while entering the address. 

I switched over all my sites to Mapbox. My German users are so suspicious of anything Google does. 

[The Old Man]

Thanks, I'll probably give that a go! ?

Google Maps had good satellite imagery of my local town in the UK, which I suppose may be something some of my clients may miss if I switch over, but I wouldn't hit Google's price tier, its just a begrudge handing over information for no good reason.

I'm minded of Android and Google Play Store, they are happy for you to use it without giving them your card details or updating after expiry if you want to use the free apps. Given the crap in their Play Store, I'm surprised at that by comparison.