Photography — entry 009 of 25
Google Photos
Google's Photos APIs let apps read from and write to a user's Google Photos library across three products: the current Picker API lets a user securely choose individual items to share without granting an app full library access, the older Library API supports app-driven uploads and management of app-created content (several of its broader read scopes were removed on April 1, 2025), and the newer Ambient API drives slideshow experiences on photo frames and connected TVs. Every product requires OAuth2 user consent — there is no server-only API-key path — governed by Google's Photos API User Data and Developer Policy. Usage is free, bounded by per-project quotas that vary by product (for example 100,000 requests/minute for the Picker API versus 10,000/day for the Library API).
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<a href="https://greatapis.com/api/google-photos/"><img src="https://greatapis.com/badge/google-photos.svg" alt="Scored 71 on greatapis.com"></a>Auth quickstart
- Register an app / run the OAuth flow to obtain a bearer token.
- Send it as an Authorization header
Authorization: Bearer <token>
Your key is stored only in this browser (localStorage) and sent directly to the API — never to greatapis.