This free Client-side Reverse Geocoding API is the fastest and most straightforward way to convert your user’s real-time geo coordinates (latitude/longitude) into detailed locality information, on the client side.
You can easily implement it with a browser's HTML5 geolocation API or a mobile phone's location services. If the user doesn't share their location, the API will automatically utilise BigDataCloud's superior IP geolocation technology to offer the most accurate location data based on the user's IP address.
Please refer to our blog post titled "Free client-side reverse geocoding API with IP geolocation fallback" for a more comprehensive explanation of this unique fallback mechanism.
Key Benefits of the BigDataCloud’s Free Client-Side Reverse Geocoding API
Free and Unique features
- Free forever! No contract, no hidden fees, and no account required.
- Automatic fall-back to the world's most accurate next-generation IP Geolocation technology (patent pending) when no client’s geocoordinates are available
- Both commercial and non-commercial uses are permitted with no rate restrictions – we’re happy to accept literally any number of API queries at any pace as long as conditions of our Fair Use Policy are met (see below).
Superior Speed and Reliability
- Unprecedentedly fast response time (sub-millisecond)
- Enterprise-grade redundant infrastructure. Operated from ten geographically diverse data centres across the globe
- Better than 99.999% availability
- Predictable performance as no caching is used
Accurate Location Data
- Delivers administrative/non-administrative boundaries-based results
- Provides detailed locality information of a user in 148 common world languages
- Full postal code level geographical accuracy for the US, Great Britain, and Australia (partial for other countries)
- Full global coverage, including seas and oceans
- Geocoder data is updated weekly, and IP Geolocation is daily.
Privacy-Friendly and Responsive Support
- Friendly with GDPR and GDPR-like privacy laws
- Responsive customer support, even for entirely free APIs
Fair Use Policy for FREE Client-Side Reverse Geocoding API implementation
- You are allowed to make free and unlimited API calls from a client's web browser using their current coordinates obtained by the browser’s getCurrentPosition() method when consent is given or without the coordinates if denied.
- You are allowed to make unlimited free API calls from client mobile devices such as iOS, Android or IoT devices using their current coordinates when the consent is given or without the coordinates if denied.
- Please contact us if you are unsure whether your implementation meets this Fair Use Policy.
For example, check out our free Where am I? iOS and Android app. The app demonstrates how you can implement the API for a mobile app to obtain real-time locality information for your users.
IMPORTANT! Any user detected abusing the service by implementing it on a server-side or a client-side along with coordinates obtained elsewhere will be blacklisted from all of our free API Services. If you wish to utilise this Reverse Geocoding API in your backend applications, please visit our server-side variation of this API for details.
Learn how to avoid getting your IP address banned.
Parameter
Type
Required
Description
latitude
string
Yes
Latitude value as per WGS 84 reference system (GPS system). Expected values are in [-90, 90] range
longitude
string
Yes
Longitude value as per WGS 84 reference system (GPS system). Expected values are in [-180, 180] range
localityLanguage
string
Optional, default value: en
Preferred language for locality names in ISO 639-1 format, such as 'en' for English, 'es' for Spanish etc.
If the requested language is unavailable for a requested location, it will default to English.
If no English variant is available, will provide the native, local names.
Use 'default' as the requested value to automatically adjust the language to the first administrative language in the Country.