Google Maps Photo Gallery Extractor by Category

Pull every photo and video thumbnail that Google Maps publicly shows for a place — full-resolution image URLs, contributor names, captions, dimensions, and the gallery category tab each one came from (Menu, Food & Drink, Outdoor, and more).

What this actor does

• Reads a place's public photo gallery by place URL or canonical Place ID and returns up to the number of photos you request
• Filters to a single gallery tab, such as Menu, Food & Drink, Outdoor, Indoor, or Videos, instead of the full mixed gallery
• Captures each photo's contributor name and profile link, observed upload-date text, caption, and tags when the contributor published them
• Distinguishes short video clips from photos and reports their length as Google displays it
• Omits any field Google doesn't publicly expose for a given photo rather than returning a null or guessed value

Output per photo

Field	Description
recordType	Always "photo"
photoId	Google's photo identifier
photoIndex	Observed position in the active gallery/category tab; a useful ordering hint, but not guaranteed stable across runs
photoUrl	Full-resolution photo URL
thumbnailUrl	Thumbnail-size photo URL
category	The gallery tab this photo came from, included only when a specific (non-"all") tab was visibly selected
contributorName / contributorUrl	Name and profile link of whoever uploaded the photo, when shown
uploadDateOriginal	Upload date exactly as displayed, e.g. "2 months ago"
uploadDate	ISO 8601 upload date, only when Google publishes a complete calendar date
caption	Caption text, when the contributor added one
tags	Tags attached to the photo, when published
width / height / aspectRatio / orientation	Original dimensions and derived aspect ratio/orientation
isVideo	true when the item is a short video clip rather than a still photo
videoDuration	Clip length exactly as Google displays it, e.g. "0:29" — only present when isVideo is true
businessName	Name of the place the gallery belongs to
placeId	Canonical Google Place ID (ChIJ…), when that's the form Google exposes
featureId	Legacy Google feature ID (0x…:0x…), when that's the form Google exposes instead
placeUrl	The place's Google Maps URL, echoed on every row so the dataset stays joinable
sourceUrl	URL the record was read from
scrapedAt	UTC timestamp when the record was scraped

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
placeUrl	string	–	Google Maps place URL to read photos from. Country domains, short links and tracking parameters are normalized. Required unless placeId is set.
placeId	string	–	Canonical Google Place ID beginning with ChIJ; use instead of placeUrl when available
maxPhotos	integer	100	Maximum number of photos to extract (1-100000); the place's gallery may expose fewer
photoCategory	string	all	Gallery tab to read: all, by_owner, by_visitors, food_and_drink, outdoor, indoor, menu, or videos
enrichDetails	boolean	true	Read each photo's contributor name/URL, upload date, dimensions, caption and tags. Turn off for faster, thumbnail-level rows (photo/thumbnail URL, business context, category, video flag and duration) only.
proxyConfiguration	object	Apify Proxy enabled	Optional proxy override

Example: full enriched gallery

{
  "placeUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Empire+State+Building/@40.7484405,-73.9878584,17z/",
  "maxPhotos": 50,
  "photoCategory": "all",
  "enrichDetails": true
}

Example: fast export of visitor photos only

{
  "placeUrl": "https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sushi+no+Midori/@35.6704396,139.7596577,17z/",
  "maxPhotos": 1000,
  "photoCategory": "by_visitors",
  "enrichDetails": false
}

Example: menu photos by Place ID

{
  "placeId": "ChIJabtoT7hlwokRLECK0SW3_8I",
  "maxPhotos": 500,
  "photoCategory": "menu"
}

Use cases

• Visual asset libraries — build a photo set for a restaurant, hotel, or venue
• Menu and interior monitoring — track how a place's menu or interior photos change over time
• UGC sourcing — pull contributor photography for travel or food content
• Place previews — power a "what does this place look like" preview in your own app
• Lead enrichment — add visual context to a business-lead dataset

FAQ

Do I need to log in or provide cookies? No. The actor reads Google Maps' public photo gallery; no login or cookies are accepted. A proxy is only used automatically as a fallback if direct access doesn't return a usable gallery.

Why does category sometimes not appear on a row? It's only set when a specific tab (not "all") was visibly selected for that photo. If you request a specific category and Google doesn't expose that tab for the place, the run reports the problem rather than mislabeling "all" photos under the wrong category.

What does enrichDetails change? With it on, each photo's contributor, upload date, dimensions, caption and tags are read in addition to the photo and thumbnail URLs. With it off, you get faster thumbnail-level rows without those extra fields.

Are videos included? Yes, when photoCategory is "all" or "videos". Video rows have isVideo: true and a videoDuration showing the clip length as Google displays it.

Why might I get fewer photos than maxPhotos? A place's public gallery may simply contain fewer photos than you requested, or fewer for the specific category chosen; the actor returns everything available rather than padding the output.

Is this affiliated with Google? No. This actor reads Google Maps' public pages and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Google.