Google Address Verification API - Drawbacks and Limitations

 Google’s new address verification API seems promising at first glance. It can be integrated easily into a company’s technical environment and can verify addresses in real-time as customers check out or sign up for an account online. However, like any solution, it comes with some downsides and limitations that companies should be aware of before implementing it.

The most significant drawback is that the API does not meet some essential business needs, including GDPR compliance for international users processing PII data. Additionally, Google’s restrictive 30 day maximum data storage limit is extremely problematic for companies who need to re-validate addresses on a regular basis.

It is also a poor solution for high volume, bulk address validation and can be costly to implement for companies that need more than the basic $200 monthly free credit offered by Google. Furthermore, the API’s ability to process individual address components is limited and is not as robust as other providers that are CASS certified (which confirms that the address is parsed, formatted, corrected and standardized and can distinguish between residential and commercial addresses).

Another problem is that the Google address verification API only validates addresses in 27 countries. This is highly inefficient for companies that operate internationally, especially if they need to use the API to help authenticate new account holders or assess delivery address deliverability. Byteplant offers a far more comprehensive, robust and flexible address validation API that is fully compliant with EU GDPR regulations and is capable of validating addresses in 240+ countries.