Google Fonts

Google Fonts (formerly known as Google Web Fonts) is a computer font and web font service owned by Google. This includes free and open source font families, an interactive web directory for browsing the library, and APIs for using the fonts via CSS^[2] and Android.^[3] Google Fonts is also used with Google Workspace software such as Docs, Sheets, Drawings and Slides.

Google Fonts

Prompt,[1] a Thai typeface from Google Fonts
Developer	Google
Type	Font embedding service
Launch date	2010 (2010)
Website	fonts.google.com

Popular fonts in the Google Fonts library include Roboto, Open Sans, Lato, Oswald, Montserrat, and Source Sans Pro.^[4] National Fonts and PT Fonts are also available in the Google Fonts library.

History

Google Fonts was launched in 2010^[5] and revamped in 2011,^[6] 2016,^[7] 2020^[8] and 2023^[9]

On March 3, 2020, Google updated the catalog website with support for variable fonts.^{[citation needed]} On March 2, 2021, the Google Fonts team announced they were adding support for open source icons.^[10]

Font library

As of April 2025^[update], Google Fonts had 1816 font families, including 468 variable font families.^[11]

The library is maintained through Google Fonts' GitHub repository, where all font files can be obtained directly. Source files for many of the fonts are available from git repositories within the Google Fonts' GitHub organization, along with libre software tools used by the Google Fonts community.

Licenses and distribution

Most of the fonts are released under the SIL Open Font License 1.1, while some are released under the Apache License;^[12] both are libre licenses.

The font library is also distributed by Monotype's SkyFonts and Adobe's Edge Web Fonts and Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit) services.

Privacy issues

In February 2022, a German court ruled that a website using Google Fonts violated the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by passing personally identifiable information (IP address) to Google without the user's consent or a legitimate interest in doing so.^[13]

The proceedings related to embedding via a link to Google's servers and were only pursued by a warning lawyer with fraudulent intent. If the fonts are integrated from your own website, no information is transferred to Google, so this risk does not exist at all. See article in the German Wikipedia for further details.