Google API Bug - Attribution Inconsistency - ios

Question

Fetching photo data for a place using Google Places API HTTP web service call URL,
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/nearbysearch/json?location=<LOCATION>&radius=<RADIUS>&sensor=false&key=<API_KEY>
yields the expected callback. Here is the response from a request I am using for testing.
2017-09-19 11:20:32.968347-0400 <MY_APP_NAME>[7502:2809094] Places Found: (
{
...
...
photos = (
{
height = 5312;
"html_attributions" = (
"leah steen"
);
"photo_reference" = "CmRaAAAAcppPDrYGBnLqlyYQ_EMmsvgKXXpVjp0drGkJPWLBwlSzrWzuhtFFGCzQPl1pSez92QVktthtaMSsV1IlAWMIMPboycElhruKgUg-KFHWWrhLKOR6h8GGiR349rhokAFJEhApc7ghYIH0guUQBGJi1bKBGhQMcElN7-lSBzvCgAG3vVzANLkf6A";
width = 2988;
}
);
...
...
}
)
As you can see, this place has a photo dictionary containing an html_attributions value for the associated image, which I am handling appropriately throughout my application.
ISSUE:
When I fetch the photo data for the same place, by using the place_id, I get this for the photo and attribution:
2017-09-19 11:22:08.548253-0400 <MY_APP_NAME>[7502:2809094] photo data: (
"<UIImage: 0x17048b720> size {169, 300} orientation 0 scale 2.000000",
"leah steen{\n}"
)
I receive of course the same photo, but an attribution WITHOUT a link. As you can see from my other method using the web service, the photo for this place does indeed have an attribution with a link.
I am at a loss. How am I supposed to get the full attribution from Google if their iOS SDK does not return the same data?
CODE:
Using Google's other suggested method for fetching photo data for a place via the place_id you can obtain the image and the images attribution (if it has one).
I fetch the data using these two methods as Google asks:
- (void)lookUpPhotosForPlaceID:(NSString *)placeID
callback:(GMSPlacePhotoMetadataResultCallback)callback;
- (void)loadPlacePhoto:(GMSPlacePhotoMetadata *)photo
callback:(GMSPlacePhotoImageResultCallback)callback;
Here is the code I use for fetching the photo data.
// Look up photos for the place
[[GMSPlacesClient sharedClient] lookUpPhotosForPlaceID:placeID callback:^(GMSPlacePhotoMetadataList * _Nullable photos, NSError * _Nullable error) {
if (error != nil) {
response(error, NULL);
return;
}
if (photos.results.count > 0) {
GMSPlacePhotoMetadata *metaData = photos.results.firstObject; // Using the first photo
// Load the photo
[[GMSPlacesClient sharedClient] loadPlacePhoto:metaData constrainedToSize:<SOME_SIZE> scale:[UIApplication sharedApplication].keyWindow.screen.scale callback:^(UIImage * _Nullable photo, NSError * _Nullable error) {
if (error) {
response(error, NULL);
return;
}
NSArray *photoData = #[photo, metaData.attributions];
response(nil, photoData);
}];
}
else response(error, NULL);
}];
EDIT:
For reference, as Google does inform it's users that this data may be subject to change, and that multiple callbacks should return the same data. Yet multiple calls using different API's do not...

Answer 1

You can do couple of thing to verify correct behaviour:
You can switch back to first API and see whether it actually returns it again. Because doc says:
Multiple calls of this method will probably return the same photos
each time. However, this is not guaranteed because the underlying data
may have changed.
Second you can check the callback behaviour if you are losing some data when callback is called in line
NSArray *photoData = #[photo, metaData.attributions];
At this point it me be loosing attributed string but only retains plain text(leah steen).
Good way to check this metaData is before loadPlacePhoto:callback: