Overview

AI-generated Key Takeaways

• The Places SDK for iOS allows you to build location-aware iOS applications that utilize local business and point of interest data.

• The SDK offers two versions: Places SDK for iOS and Places SDK for iOS (New), with the latter featuring a simplified pricing model and Swift support through a separate Preview SDK.

• Core functionalities include place details retrieval, place photos, text search, nearby search, autocomplete, and current place detection (in the older SDK version).

• The SDK leverages on-device caching for improved performance and requires adherence to Google Maps Platform Terms of Service and attribution display guidelines.

• Before starting, ensure you have a project with an active billing account and the Places API enabled.

Select platform: Android iOS JavaScript Web Service

European Economic Area (EEA) developers

If your billing address is in the European Economic Area, effective on 8 July 2025, the Google Maps Platform EEA Terms of Service will apply to your use of the Services. Functionality varies by region. Learn more.

Before you begin: Before you start using the Places SDK for iOS, you need a project with a billing account and the Places API enabled. We recommend creating multiple Project Owners and Billing Administrators, so that you'll always have someone with these roles available to your team. To learn more, see Set up in Cloud console.

Introduction

The Places SDK for iOS lets you build location-aware apps that respond contextually to the local businesses and other places near the device. This means you can build rich apps based on places that mean something to the user.

Note: Places API (New) is the current version of the Places SDK for iOS. Places API is now Legacy and can no longer be enabled. Legacy documentation and migration guides are available on the Legacy tab.

Concepts

A place is defined as a physical space that has a name. Another way of thinking about a place is that it's anything you can find on a map. Examples include local businesses, points of interest, and geographic locations. In the API, a place is represented by the GMSPlace Class Reference. It includes information such as the name of the place and its address, geographical location, place ID, phone number, place type, website URL, and more.

Note: Whenever your app displays information about places sourced from the Places SDK for iOS, the app must also show all relevant attributions that are returned by the API. See the documentation on displaying attributions.

SDK overview

Use Places SDK for iOS to help your customers explore where they are and what's around them. Places SDK for iOS provides the following APIs:

Places SDK for iOS (New)	Description
Place Details (New)	Returns information about places, including the place's name and address, the geographical location, the type of place (such as night club, pet store, museum), and more.
Place Photo (New)	Returns high-quality images of a place.
Text Search (New)	Returns information about a set of places based on a text search.
Nearby Search (New)	Returns information about a set of places by specifying a location as a search area.
Autocomplete (New)	Automatically fills in the name and/or address of a place as users type.

Other highlights of the SDK include:

• Accurate place detection at low power with Wi-Fi scan.
• On-device caching: Most requests to the Places SDK for iOS may involve a round trip to a Google server, but you can also cache data locally for 30 days.

Policies and terms

All applications that use the Places SDK for iOS must adhere to the requirements described in the Google Maps Platform Terms of Service, and Displaying Attributions.