Error in get_map using ggmap in R

Question

About 90% of the time, when using get_map in ggmap, I get the following error. Can someone please tell me why?

map <- get_map(location = 'Australia', zoom = 4)

Error in download.file(url, destfile = destfile, quiet = !messaging, mode = "wb") : cannot open URL 'http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/staticmap?center=Australia&zoom=4&size=%20640x640&scale=%202&maptype=terrain&sensor=false' In addition: Warning message: In download.file(url, destfile = destfile, quiet = !messaging, mode = "wb") : cannot open: HTTP status was '403 Forbidden'

Answer 1

The problem is likely related to your API project not being authorized by Google.

An API project is easy to create, and get authorized:
Click this link and choose create. Alternatively choose select if you already have a created project, but just need to activate the API. After that choose "Enable". After that your code should work.

Link again: https://console.developers.google.com/apis/api/static_maps_backend?project=_