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Consent Mode

Consent Mode is a Google tag feature that tells the tags each visitor's cookie consent choice, so they adjust what they store and send to Google.

How it works

The cookie banner asks the visitor; Consent Mode tells Google tags the answer. Four of its consent types matter here:

  • ad_storage and analytics_storage: whether tags may store cookies for ads and analytics;
  • ad_user_data: whether user data may go to Google for advertising. If denied, enhanced conversions get no hashed customer data;
  • ad_personalization: whether user data may be used for personalised ads, such as remarketing.

Google added the last two in November 2023, hence “Consent Mode v2”. For visitors in the European Economic Area, Google requires advertisers to collect consent and pass these signals to keep using its tags for measurement, personalisation and remarketing.

It runs in two modes:

  • Basic: tags stay blocked until the visitor answers. After a refusal nothing reaches Google, not even the refusal; Google Ads fills the gap with a general model.
  • Advanced: tags load immediately and send cookieless pings while consent is denied. Once there is enough data, Google uses these pings to estimate modeled conversions with a more detailed model built for the advertiser.

Consent Mode v2 for online stores explains which mode suits a store.

Where you see it

  • Google Ads: the Consent Mode status in conversion diagnostics. After at least 7 full days, it may also show the uplift from Consent Mode.
  • Tag Assistant: Google tag requests carry the consent state in the gcs and gcd parameters.

Not to be confused with

  • Marketing consent — a customer’s permission to receive marketing emails or text messages. Consent Mode carries only cookie and ad data choices.

Right and wrong readings

  • Wrong: “With Consent Mode, Google Ads still counts the orders of visitors who refused cookies.” Right: in advanced mode, tags still send cookieless pings and Google estimates part of the missing conversions; in basic mode, Google gets nothing from them.
  • Wrong: “Consent Mode makes the banner compliant.” Right: it includes no banner and only passes the answer on; collecting consent is the site’s job.

Sources