Will Google block my access if I use their functions without a token?

Question

I use this link https://www.google.com/reader/api/0/stream/contents/feed/FEEDHERE?output=json&n=20

to receive feeds using the Google algorithm. As you can see, I am not adding any other parameters, but just getting the returned data in JSON format. My application will be heavily used with hope, and if I send a lot of requests to this link, will Google block my access or something else?

Is there anything I can include, such as userip, url for my application (so if they have a problem, just contact me) or something else?

Answer 1

The simplest answer to your question is that Google will change its Terms of Service any time it wants, and you have no opinion on this matter. Therefore, if it is permitted today, tomorrow it may not be resolved at the whim of Google.

In this matter, however, you look quite safe. From the Terms of Service (this is a general document since Reader does not seem to have a specific one):

Do not abuse our Services. For example, do not interfere with our services or try to access them using a method other than the interface and instructions that we provide.

Google provides RSS and Atom. They provide these channels, so I assume that they expect them to be used. They do not say that it is a misnomer to point someone else to these channels, so now it looks fine, but they can add such a sentence at any time.

Answer 2

All online services are subject to the terms of the providers of these services. Thus, as others have said, they may be fine with your use today, but they can change their mind at any time along the line. I doubt that the URL or email address or contact information will help anything, because when these services change, they do not notify each user of the service, they simply announce it publicly, and usually they give a notice in a few months, to provide users with the opportunity to adapt their applications, but this is not standardized or applied, so there is no guarantee. One example would be the recent cessation of use of the Google Finance API (for which no replacement was announced).

The safest approach would be to create your application in such a way that this function using the Google functions is as much as possible untied with the rest of your application, so that when or when the availability of the service changes (i.e. available at all), you can adapt your application to use some other source for feeds with minimal impact on the rest of the application. Design for change and plan for the worst.