I have a software that translates text messages. Translation API can get expensive so my question is: can I let users provide their own Translate API keys into my software and consume it? And is it also legal/allowed to combine the quota from multiple users into a shared pool?
Thank you
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Hi @AzizNat ,
Welcome and thank you for reaching out to our community.
I get that minimizing API cost can be a little challenging but let me share my thoughts around your inquiries.
- Have your users provide you with their respective API keys are acceptable but you need to ensure security and properly set their expectations.
- These keys are there to keep usage and billing to each individual account, preventing unauthorized utilization and sharing of their resources
- You need to understand the quotas and limitations associated with each API keys/ accounts and regularly remind them about it as to not exceed usage
- Make sure that you validate the authenticity of their API keys and protect them from unauthorized access
- It is basically prohibited under Google’s terms of service to combine quota from multiple users into a shared pool as this may misrepresent individual usage or billing.
Adding these documents for your reference.