Google's terms are direct about scraping: the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service state that customers will not "export, extract, or otherwise scrape Google Maps Content for use outside the Services," and caching is prohibited except where the Service Specific Terms expressly permit it. The two practical exceptions worth knowing: you may store place IDs indefinitely, and you may cache place coordinates for up to 30 consecutive calendar days. Everything else - names, ratings, reviews, photos, phone numbers - is meant to be requested live and displayed with Google Maps attribution, not warehoused.
This guide walks through what the official terms and policies actually say, section by section, with links to Google's own documents so you can verify every claim. It is written for developers deciding between the official Places API, a Google Maps scraper, and a licensed business data API - three paths with very different terms postures. It is not legal advice; always read the current documents yourself, because Google updates them.
The Rules at a Glance
| Question | What the terms say | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Can I scrape Google Maps pages? | No. Customers "will not export, extract, or otherwise scrape Google Maps Content for use outside the Services" | Google Maps Platform ToS, section 3.2.3 |
| Can I cache or store Places API data? | Not in general. Caching is prohibited "except as expressly permitted" by the Service Specific Terms | ToS section 3.2.3 + Service Specific Terms |
| Can I store place IDs? | Yes. The place ID is exempt from the caching restrictions and may be stored indefinitely | Places API policies |
| Can I cache coordinates? | Yes, temporarily. Places latitude/longitude values may be cached for up to 30 consecutive calendar days | Service Specific Terms |
| Do I have to show attribution? | Yes. Google Maps attribution (logo preferred, "Google Maps" text where space is limited) plus author credit on reviews and photos | Places API policies |
| Can I build my own database from Places results? | Not from Google Maps Content. Storing Places fields beyond the exceptions is exactly what the caching clause restricts | ToS |
Checked against Google's official Maps Platform terms, Service Specific Terms, and Places API policies in July 2026. Google revises these documents; verify the current text before you build.
The No-Scraping Clause, in Plain English
The core restriction lives in the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service under the license restrictions (section 3.2.3 in the current numbering). The customer agrees not to export, extract, or otherwise scrape Google Maps Content for use outside the services. "Google Maps Content" is defined broadly: it covers the data the platform returns, including place listings, reviews, photos, and other content you see on Google Maps.
Two things follow from that wording:
- Loading Google Maps pages with a headless browser and parsing the HTML is squarely the behavior the clause describes, whether you run the browser yourself or rent a hosted scraping actor. The tooling does not change the terms posture.
- Even data obtained through the official Places API is still Google Maps Content. Paying for API calls does not license you to extract it into your own standalone dataset - that is what the caching clause below constrains.
If you are weighing the practical (not just contractual) trade-offs of scraping versus the official API, the full comparison is in Google Places API vs scrapers vs business data APIs.
What You May Cache and Store
The same section of the terms prohibits caching Google Maps Content "except as expressly permitted" - and the express permissions live in the Service Specific Terms and the Places API policies page. As of July 2026, the two exceptions that matter for Places are:
- Place IDs: storable indefinitely. Google's Places policies state that the place ID, used to uniquely identify a place, is exempt from the caching restrictions. This is the supported way to "remember" a place: keep the ID, then re-request fresh details when you need to display them.
- Coordinates: cacheable up to 30 days. The Service Specific Terms permit temporarily caching Places latitude/longitude values for up to 30 consecutive calendar days, after which they must be deleted.
Everything else - display names, formatted addresses, ratings, reviews, opening hours, photos, phone numbers, website URLs - falls under the general rule: request it live, display it, do not warehouse it. That is why "just call Place Details for every business in the city and save the rows" is not a compliant database strategy, even though every individual API call is legitimate.
Attribution: The Part Most Integrations Miss
The Places API policies also set display rules for the data you request:
- Show Google Maps attribution wherever Places data appears. Google prefers the Google Maps logo; where space is limited, the text "Google Maps" is acceptable.
- Credit the author when you display user-generated content such as reviews and photos. For reviews in tight layouts, the author's avatar is the documented minimum.
If your UI displays Places data without attribution, that is a policy violation even when your sourcing and caching are otherwise clean.
So Which Path Is Actually Compliant?
A page scraper is not. DIY Playwright crawlers and hosted "Google Maps scraper" actors both extract Google Maps Content for use outside the services - the exact thing the no-scraping clause prohibits. The Google Places scraper guide covers what that means operationally (CAPTCHAs, proxies, selector churn) on top of the terms exposure.
The official Places API is compliant for its intended job: live place search and display inside your product, with field masks, attribution, and no long-term storage beyond place IDs. Where it runs out of road is data the Place object simply does not carry - most famously, business email addresses, which no Places SKU returns.
A licensed business data API takes a third route. biz collect performs discovery through official Google Places search, keeps the durable identifier model, and then enriches each record from the business's own public website - emails, social profiles, and other contact fields come from the business's site, not from Google Maps Content. Its enrichment crawler honors robots.txt in its default respectful mode, and the boundaries are published in the acceptable use policy and security overview.
Common Situations, Answered
"I want a database of every dentist in my state." Building that by storing Places API responses conflicts with the caching clause, and scraping Maps pages conflicts with the no-scraping clause. The compliant options are licensed data providers or an enrichment model like the one above.
"I want to show nearby cafes in my app." That is exactly what the Places API is for. Request live, display with attribution, store only place IDs.
"I already scraped Google Maps for a one-off report." The terms do not distinguish one-offs, so understand the risk you took: enforcement typically means blocked keys or accounts rather than instant lawsuits, but a production dependency on scraping is a business risk, not just a legal one.
"My scraper vendor says it's fine." Vendors selling Google Maps scrapers are describing their tool's capability, not your permission. The terms bind the party extracting the content - read them yourself.
The Bottom Line
The official documents are short and worth reading directly: the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service, the Service Specific Terms, and the Places API policies. The pattern they add up to: use Places live for display, keep place IDs, cache coordinates briefly, attribute everything, and do not scrape or warehouse Google Maps Content.
When your job is structured, storable local business data - CRM enrichment, lead research, AI agents - pick a path built for that job. The Google Places API vs scrapers vs business data APIs comparison walks through the decision, and the business data API guide covers how to evaluate providers.
Frequently asked questions
- Is scraping Google Maps or the Places API allowed under Google's terms?
- No. The Google Maps Platform Terms of Service state that customers will not export, extract, or otherwise scrape Google Maps Content for use outside the Services. That covers DIY browser scrapers and hosted scraping actors alike. This is a contractual restriction; consult the current terms and your own counsel for legal specifics.
- Can I store or cache Google Places API data?
- Only within narrow exceptions. Place IDs are exempt from the caching restrictions and may be stored indefinitely, and Places coordinates may be cached for up to 30 consecutive calendar days. Other fields such as names, ratings, reviews, and phone numbers must be requested live rather than warehoused.
- Can I store place IDs from the Places API?
- Yes. Google's Places API policies explicitly exempt the place ID from the caching restrictions, so you can store place IDs indefinitely and re-request fresh place details when you need to display them.
- What attribution does the Places API require?
- Google Maps attribution must appear wherever Places data is displayed - the Google Maps logo where possible, or the text Google Maps where space is limited. User-generated content such as reviews and photos must also credit the author.
- Can I build my own business database from Places API results?
- Not by storing Google Maps Content - that is what the caching clause restricts. A compliant route is a business data API like biz collect, which uses official Places discovery and then enriches each record from the business's own public website, so the stored fields come from the business, not from Google Maps Content.
- Does the Places API return business email addresses?
- No. No Places SKU includes an email field; contact fields are limited to phone numbers and the website URL. Emails have to come from the business's own website, which is the enrichment step biz collect performs when scrape_emails is enabled.
