API key and cost

Capture needs your own Google Maps key. Where it goes, what it is used for and what it can cost.

The 3D imagery comes from Google's Map Tiles API. Google requires a key for it and bills the key's owner, so the tool uses yours.

Getting a key

Create a key in Google Cloud with the Map Tiles API enabled. Google's own pages are the reference:

• Get an API key for the Map Tiles API
• Map Tiles API usage and billing

Entering it

In the tool, press the key button at the right of the top bar. Paste the key and press Save. A green dot on the button means a key is stored.

Show reveals the key, Paste reads it from the clipboard, and Clear key removes it. The key cannot be changed while a capture is running.

Where the key goes

• It is stored in this browser only, in the site's local storage.
• It is sent to Google's tile servers and nowhere else. The tool has no server of its own.
• It is not written into anything you export.

What uses it

Only the Capture stage: the preview there, and every shot of a capture. Planning uses a separate 2D map that needs no key. Stitching works on images that are already saved.

What it costs

Google bills per tile request. A shot loads all the tiles in its view at full detail, so a capture's cost grows with the number of shots and with how much each shot covers. The tool cannot tell you the amount in advance.

Two things keep a capture small: a shorter path, and wider spacing between shots (a lower h-overlap (%)).