How to get your own API Key

Go to https://console.cloud.google.com/google/maps-apis/start. Sign in if you are not already logged into a Google account.

Select your country and agree to Google's Terms & Conditions. You'll also need to enter a credit card number to prove that you're a real human being. (You can skip the survey asking which industry you're in.)

Google will create a new API Key for you, and there's a checkbox to enable all of the Google Maps APIs by default; you probably want that box checked. (If you want to disable some of them later, click on Enabled APIs in the sidebar.)

To check on your newly-created API Key (or make another one), click on Credentials in the sidebar or navigate to https://console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials.

To make a new key, click +Create Credentials and then select API Key. To edit an existing key, click the "three dots" icon on the right side of the list of keys.

If you are only going to use the key to make maps for personal use or convert routes with GPS Visualizer, you can set Application restrictions to None. But if you're concerned about someone potentially "stealing" your map key, you can set it to only allow certain HTTP referers, and enter https://www.gpsvisualizer.com/* as one of the allowed sites under Website restrictions.

If you want to restrict an API key used to convert routes with GPS Visualizer, you can add a restriction based on IP addresses and add GPS Visualizer's IP (155.254.19.114) to the list of allowed IPs. Note that you generally cannot use an IP-restricted key to make maps, only to convert a route (or perform a similar behind-the-scenes API call).

If you needed a key to "fix" a GPS Visualizer map that no longer works without one, open your map in a text editor and look for var google_api_key = ''; and insert your key (with NO spaces) between the quotes. (Also, search for file:// and replace it with xxxx:// if you find it.)

How to obtain your own mapping/geocoding key

To get a Google Maps API key:

To get a Bing Maps API key: