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Free Client-side Reverse Geocoding API: Usage Guidelines and Fair Use Policy

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The free client-side Reverse Geocoding API is designed for client-side use only. Calls that violate this policy may result in your IP address being banned, preventing access to all of BigDataCloud's free APIs.

If your IP is banned you will receive a 402 error. To request a review, contact us via our contact page.

Fair use policy

  1. The API must only be used to convert current geo-coordinates obtained with permission from the calling client device.
  2. Pre-stored coordinates, or coordinates belonging to another client or user, must not be passed to this endpoint.
  3. Coordinates must reflect the calling device's current, best-known location, retrieved via client-side geolocation services such as GPS or Wi-Fi positioning.
  4. For web projects, use the HTML5 Geolocation API. For mobile and IoT devices, use the platform's native location SDK.
  5. The API call must originate from the client where the coordinates are retrieved — not from a separate server.
  6. You may not retrieve coordinates on the client and transmit them to a server for processing before calling this API. The call must happen on the same client where the coordinates are available.

If you need server-side access

Use the server-side Reverse Geocoding API instead. It returns the same data, includes 50,000 free queries per month, and requires an API key.