Tale of how Google billing has changed, or how to avoid unnecessary costs

Hello. On one of the web projects, we use the Maps JavaScript API, but after the charging change from July 16, 2018, something went wrong. We share our experience so that this does not happen to you.

So, in order.

What we have

1. Google provides the ability to use different APIs as part of the cloud.google.com services . There are many of them; it doesn't make sense to list everything - but we use the Maps JavaScript API cloud.google.com/maps-platform/maps .
2. API services are managed through a completely understandable GUI with a dashboard of the used console.cloud.google.com/home/dashboard services
3. Integration for different customers is done differently. In our case, simply place the JS widget according to developers.google.com/maps/documentation/javascript/tutorial

C July 16, 2018 charging conditions turned the next - klats .

If in short - then the billing occurs within some “food packages” (in fact, a combination of API), and each product set can be charged in its own way under certain conditions. A monthly loan of $ 200 is allocated, which is taken into account when charging services.

Conditions are accepted, the card to the payment account is tied up, let's go. All screenshots are made from the console, the project is the same, smeared by NDA.

Funny pictures

Introduction 1 - general view of the control panel used by the Maps JavaScript API.



Introduction 2 - methods used that we can manage from the console.




Introductory 3 - usage indicators



Introductory 4 - billing report After



reading the description , we are contacting Google for support, since we didn’t connect the Maps and Street View API in any way. We get the answer verbatim:

I would like to make a javascript API. Maps and Street View API Javascript API. I wouldn’t like to use the Javascript API usage instead.

We do not give up and try to figure out further, we get the following clarification:



In parallel, we read the document again and find the following (we read including the paragraph above the table):

Well, they did not understand themselves in tariffing, what is the moral?

The moral of this fable is that

1. Previously, the Street View API was connected separately (and in fact, now you can connect it separately to the console, but not disconnect it). Now it is, in fact, part of the Maps Javascript API (although it is charged as a separate API). And if for some reason you didn’t take it into account and were oriented towards tariffing either by calculator or by description from here and didn’t consider usage and tariffing by the Street View API - be prepared to detect unplanned expenses.
2. In addition, budget alerts work including. taking into account a loan of $ 200. Those. Be sure to consider this when setting alerts .
3. If you do not need to give an opportunity to view streets in maps - just remove the call to these methods.
4. Restricting the call to the Street View API (at the level of key usage or console) is impossible except for the logic of the calls themselves on the client.