Addrova

Can you store Google geocoding results?

Short answer: only partly. Google lets you keep a place ID indefinitely, but it restricts how long you may cache the latitude and longitude it returns. If your product needs to keep coordinates in your own database, read the terms for your exact use before building on them. [À VÉRIFIER : relire les conditions Google Maps Platform en vigueur à la date de publication ; nos notes divergent entre « cache de 30 jours » et une page de politique qui ne mentionne que les place IDs.]

What Google's documents say

  • The Geocoding API policies page states that place IDs can be stored indefinitely. Other data falls under the Google Maps Platform service terms.
  • Those terms, in the versions we reviewed, cap the caching of latitude and longitude (30 days in the archived 2025 versions) and tie some uses to showing a Google map.

Sources: Google Geocoding API policies (developers.google.com/maps/documentation/geocoding/policies); Google Maps Platform service-specific terms (cloud.google.com/maps-platform/terms/maps-service-terms). Consulted 2026-10-18. This is a reading of public documents, not legal advice.

Why it matters

  1. Cost. Re-geocoding the same customer addresses every month means paying for the same answer again.
  2. Data quality. A coordinate you cannot keep cannot be audited, corrected or joined to your other tables.
  3. Resilience. If a price or term changes, a database of results you may keep protects you.

What you can do instead

  • Keep the place ID and call Google again when you need coordinates. You pay each time.
  • Use a provider whose terms allow permanent storage. Several do. Compare the terms line by line, not the marketing pages.
  • Use Addrova: results may be stored permanently, including after you stop using the service. Attribution of the underlying sources still applies. [À VÉRIFIER : formulation exacte des CGU Addrova sur le stockage, à aligner sur le texte contractuel.]

How to move without rewriting your code

Addrova offers a Google-compatible mode: change the base URL and the key, keep the request shape. See Migrate from Google in one line. [À VÉRIFIER : mode compatible disponible et liste des champs pris en charge.]

Checklist before you store anything

  1. Read the current terms of every provider you use, for your use case.
  2. Record the source and licence returned with each result.
  3. Keep the confidence score so you can re-check low-confidence rows later.
  4. Document the retention period in your records of processing, since addresses are personal data under the GDPR.

FAQ

Is the coordinate of an address personal data? Often yes, when it can be linked to a person. Treat stored addresses as personal data and apply your retention policy.

Does permanent storage mean I never need to refresh? No. Addresses change. Re-geocode periodically; with permanent storage you choose when, not the provider.

Where are Addrova requests processed? In the European Union only. [À VÉRIFIER : hébergeur et sous-traitants définitifs.]