I found out from here that there is a Google Maps Tile API (official documentation here). However, I can't seem to find a way to enable this API.
Except for the link found in the question mentioned above, I couldn't find any other reference to this API, anywhere. It's not even listed on the main page of the Maps API (here) or the documentation page.
The API is also not listed in the Developer Console API Library.
I've tried sending a session request (as explained in the documentation) but received this response:
{
"error": {
"errors": [
{
"domain": "usageLimits",
"reason": "accessNotConfigured",
"message": "Access Not Configured. Maps Tile API has not been used in project XXXXXXXXXXXX before or it is disabled. Enable it by visiting https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/tile.googleapis.com/overview?project=XXXXXXXXXXXX then retry. If you enabled this API recently, wait a few minutes for the action to propagate to our systems and retry.",
"extendedHelp": "https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/tile.googleapis.com/overview?project=XXXXXXXXXXXX"
}
],
"code": 403,
"message": "Access Not Configured. Maps Tile API has not been used in project XXXXXXXXXXXX before or it is disabled. Enable it by visiting https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/tile.googleapis.com/overview?project=XXXXXXXXXXXX then retry. If you enabled this API recently, wait a few minutes for the action to propagate to our systems and retry."
}
}
Following the link to the Developer Console, I receive this message:
The API "tile.googleapis.com" doesn't exist or you don't have permission to access it
Is this a Google Maps premium feature? Does any one have more information on this API?
The Tile API is not available for Standard plan users. Neither for Premium plan users [1]. It requires a special license. You should contact Google's sales team directly in order to get some additional information regarding Tile API.
[1] https://developers.google.com/maps/premium/overview#package