Geolocation API overview

  • The Geolocation API determines the latitude and longitude of a device using cell tower and WiFi access point data, returning results with an accuracy radius.

  • This API is primarily for devices lacking native geolocation features; devices with such features should leverage HTML5 geolocation or the Geocoding API.

  • By sending an HTTPS POST request with device data to the API endpoint, developers can retrieve location information for mobile devices.

  • Developers can utilize various data resources like cell device fields, cell tower data, and WiFi access point data to pinpoint device locations.

  • Client libraries are available in Java, Python, Go, and Node.js for seamless integration with the Geolocation API.

The Geolocation API is a service that accepts an HTTPS request with the cell tower and Wi-Fi access points that a mobile client can detect. It returns latitude/longitude coordinates and a radius indicating the accuracy of the result for each valid input.

Why use the Geolocation API

Use the Geolocation API to locate mobile devices that do not provide built-in geolocation features.

What you can do with the Geolocation API

With the Geolocation API, you can use geospatial data from cell towers and WiFi nodes to get the location of a device that does not have built-in geolocation or GPS.

How the Geolocation API works

The Geolocation API uses cellular device data fields, cell tower data, and WiFi access point array data to return latitude/longitude coordinates and an accuracy radius. It accepts an HTTPS POST request to its endpoint along with a JSON structured request body. The following example shows the request URL and an example request body:

curl -X POST "https://www.googleapis.com/geolocation/v1/geolocate?key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d \
'{ "homeMobileCountryCode":310,
   "homeMobileNetworkCode":410,
   "radioType":"gsm",
   "carrier":"Vodafone",
   "considerIp":true
}'
 The API can return data for a number of common cellular data fields as indicated below.

Resources

The following table summarizes the fields in the request body of the geolocation endpoint call, along with the type of data provided from such queries.

Data resources Data returned Return format
Cell device data fields such as carrier, device, and network information. Latitude/longitude coordinates and an accuracy radius JSON
Cell tower data, such as location area code and mobile country codes.
WiFi access points data, such as MAC address and signal strength.

How to use the Geolocation API

1 Get set up Start with Set up your Google Cloud project and complete the setup instructions that follow.
2 Try a geolocation request Once you have an API key, you can start testing out the Geolocation API using cURL or Postman. See Sample requests in the Geolocation requests and response guide for details.
3 Get the cellID from different radio towers See Calculating cellID and Calculating newRadioCellID to get access to older and newer towers, respectively.
4 Understand response basics Explore the geolocation data responses to prepare to use elevation data for your app. See Geolocation responses for details.

Available client libraries

Call this API in the language of your choice through one of the following client libraries:

The Java Client, Python Client, Go Client and Node.js Client for Google Maps Services are community-supported client libraries, open sourced under the Apache 2.0 License. Download them from GitHub, where you can also find installation instructions and sample code.

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