Keys, hosting and pricing
The difference between test and live keys and between publishable and secret keys, where your data is hosted, and how usage is counted.
Short answers about keys, going live, hosting and your plan. Each one links to the page that explains it.
Test and live keys#
What is the difference between a test key and a live key?#
Every new key is a test key. A test key works from localhost, from the origins you list, from apps and from server tools. What it records is marked as test and kept apart from your live records. It is deleted 30 days after its last change.
A live key writes the records that count as your evidence. From a browser it works only on the origins you listed.
More: Key ideas and Request to go live.
How does a key go live, and who approves it?#
Choose Request to go live on the key in Install. You can add a note for the reviewer. Before you can ask, the key must list the origins or the app id it runs on. A key used only from your servers needs a secret key instead. Its property also needs a published form.
The team that runs your deployment reviews the request. Until then the key shows Waiting for approval and stays a test key.
More: Request to go live.
Do we have to reinstall anything when the key goes live?#
No. Once approved, the key becomes Live with the same key string. If the request is declined, you see the reviewer's note and can ask again.
More: Request to go live.
Why did our live key stop working on localhost?#
Once a key is live, it answers browsers only on its listed origins. Keep a separate test key for local development. A live key with no origins works only from a server, with its secret.
More: Request to go live.
How do we tell test records from live ones?#
Records and webhooks from a test key are marked as test. In the console a test record carries the Test badge. The Records page lists live records only until you choose Live and test records or Test records only under More filters.
More: Test your integration.
Can we add an origin to a key later?#
No. The console has no way to edit a key afterwards. To change its name, property, origins or rate limit, create a new key and install it. Then revoke the old one.
More: Create a key.
Publishable and secret keys#
What is the difference between a publishable key and a secret key?#
A publishable key (pk_…) goes in your page or app, where anyone can see it. It can show the form and record the visitor's own answer. It works only from the origins you listed.
A secret key (sk_…) stays on your servers and is shown once. It can record and read consent for any person. Finding, exporting, withdrawing or erasing everything held for a person needs scopes that you grant to the key.
More: Keys and where to use them.
What happens if a secret key is used from a browser?#
The call is refused, and the key is marked Exposed so that you can replace it. Anyone may now have the key. Revoke it and create a new one.
More: Manage keys.
Hosting#
Where is our data hosted?#
That depends on your deployment. Settings shows it under Where your data is kept, as the operator states it. Ask your account contact what that means for transfers outside India. If you run the service yourself, the records stay on the infrastructure you choose.
More: Data processing.
How fast does a consent check answer?#
We publish what one test machine measured, in the consent check benchmark. Your systems also wait for the network trip to your deployment, which depends on where it runs. There is no promised response time. The Node.js and Python helpers wait one second unless you change it.
More: Check consent before you process.
Can we run the service ourselves?#
Yes. You can run the service on your own infrastructure. You then hold the deployment secrets and run the backups, TLS and updates yourself.
More: Deployment options.
Pricing#
How is it priced?#
Ask your account contact. These pages do not list prices.
In the console, Usage this month on the Overview page counts the live consent records created in the calendar month, across every property in the project. It compares the count with the number entered under Monthly consent records in your plan in Project settings.
More: Usage and limits.
What happens if we go over the number in our plan?#
Consent is still recorded. Nothing is blocked when you pass the number.
More: Usage and limits.