Manual review request: account-level 403 on two no-billing Gemini API projects

Gemini API
1

Hello Gemini API team,

I am requesting a manual review of what appears to be an account-level Gemini Developer API restriction on a personal Google account.

Affected projects:

  • codex-gog-florence-ai-202604.. (project number 2100404347..)
  • gemini-florence-free-2608.. (project number 10464752242..)

Both projects are ACTIVE, have no organization parent, and have no Cloud Billing account attached. The account is a personal Gmail account, not a Google Workspace or enterprise account.

A minimal direct REST request to gemini-2.5-flash returns HTTP 403 PERMISSION_DENIED with: “Your project has been denied access. Please contact support.” The same result occurred on the older project and on a newly created clean project immediately after creation, which rules out a single-project configuration problem and strongly suggests an account-level flag.

Troubleshooting completed:

  • Verified there is no billing account and no organization parent.
  • Created one clean no-billing project and enabled the Gemini API.
  • Generated a fresh restricted API key and tested a minimal request.
  • Confirmed the same 403 response.
  • Deleted all test API keys afterward; no affected-project key remains active.

Use case: low-volume personal AI assistant and Cherry Studio testing. I am not aware of any policy violation.

The dedicated unexpected-403 Google Form is now closed and directs users to Cloud Billing Support. Because this account has no billing account, the Billing Support troubleshooter does not offer a truthful matching contact option.

Please review the restriction at the account level and restore Gemini Developer API free-tier eligibility if this is a false positive. I can provide redacted logs or screenshots privately if needed.

Thank you.

2

Hello @FlorenceJenny ,

Getting a 403 API error response and / or seeing “Unavailable” next to your project in AI audio indicates a flag has been placed on your account. To proceed:

If you’re on the free tier with no billing attached, you should consider setting up billing. In most cases this is enough to clear any flag on your account. Please note this will mean you lose your free tier quota. You should also see a banner in AI studio prompting you to set up billing.

3

Hi,

I just need my free tire back.

Would you please tell me how to do it?

Thank you.