Question

There seems to be some confusion as to what is causing an error with Google Places API and using JSON as the output.

For example, the output (when pasting the URL into the address abr of your browser returns this:

{
   "html_attributions" : [],
   "results" : [],
   "status" : "REQUEST_DENIED"
}

At first, I thought this may have something to do with my API Access Status set to ‘Inactive’ but after reading several posts here on SO…

• REQUEST_DENIED Google Maps API v3 Places Error
• Google Places API – REQUEST_DENIED
• REQUEST_DENIED when using the Google Places API

…I am none the wiser. The aim of this post/thread is to try establish exactly the capabilities of Google Places API, whether or not the API Key is required, and why REQUEST_DENIED occurs so often for many users.

Answer 1

"status" : "REQUEST_DENIED" is returned when:

• The sensor parameter is missing
• The key parameter is missing
• The sensor parameter is not set to true or false
• There is a problem with the key parameter e.g.
  • You have not activated the Places API Service in your APIs Console Services Tab
  • Your API Key does not match the key in your APIs Console API Access Tab
  • Your API key has been compromised and blocked; you can generate a new API key in your APIs Console API Access Tab
• The request is not sent as a HTTPS GET request
  • HTTPS is required for all Places API Web Service request
  • POST requests will only work for Places API Place Actions e.g Check-In and Event requests