Guide
Consent Mode v2: EU consent, Google tags and what changes for your measurement
Consent Mode passes your visitors' cookie consent choices to Google tags so they adjust their behaviour; version 2 added two signals, ad_user_data and ad_personalization, that Google expects for visitors in the European Economic Area (EEA). Without consent signals for EEA users, you lose access to features such as personalised advertising and remarketing audiences, and measurement is reduced.
What Consent Mode is, and what it is not
Google Ads Help describes Consent Mode as the way to communicate your users' cookie or app identifier consent status to Google, so that tags adjust their behaviour and respect users' choices. It is not a consent banner: it does not ask visitors anything. It works with your banner (or consent management platform), which collects the choice, and then tells Google tags what that choice was.
The four consent signals
Google Analytics Help adds the link with measurement: for ads measurement consent, Analytics expects the ad_user_data parameter, and ads personalisation consent is sent with ad_personalization.
| Signal | What it controls (Google's definition) |
|---|---|
| ad_storage | Enables storage, such as cookies or device identifiers, related to advertising |
| analytics_storage | Enables storage, such as cookies or device identifiers, related to analytics, for example visit duration |
| ad_user_data | Sets consent for sending user data to Google for online advertising purposes (added in v2) |
| ad_personalization | Sets consent for personalised advertising (added in v2) |
What Google requires for visitors in the EEA
Google Analytics Help states that to keep using applicable tags for measurement, ad personalisation and remarketing features, you must collect consent for the use of personal data from end users based in the EEA and share consent signals with Google for these uses. Google Ads Help lists the steps: implement Consent Mode, collect consent through a banner, pass the signals with the new parameters, and use a Google-certified consent management platform or implement Consent Mode v2 yourself.
The consequence of doing nothing is spelled out for audiences: if you take no action, only end users outside the EEA will be included in audiences used by your linked advertising products, a change Google dated to early March 2024.
Basic or advanced: two ways to implement
Google uses these signals for conversion and behavioural modelling, to fill part of the gap left by visitors who decline. Google Ads Help notes that it takes at least 7 full days after implementation before the platforms may report enough data. Which mode suits you is also a legal and privacy decision for your business, not only a measurement one.
| Basic mode | Advanced mode | |
|---|---|---|
| Before the visitor chooses | Google tags are blocked; nothing is sent | Tags load with consent set to denied by default |
| If the visitor refuses | No data is transferred to Google at all | Tags send cookieless pings (no cookies stored) |
| What those pings contain | Not applicable | Functional information such as timestamp, user agent, referrer and the consent state |
| Modelling in Google Ads and Analytics | A general model | An advertiser-specific model, with more detailed modelling |
What actually changes in your reports
- Fewer observed users and conversions from visitors who refuse: with basic mode, you see nothing from them; with advanced mode, Google may model part of it.
- Smaller remarketing audiences in the EEA if consent signals are missing or denied.
- Gaps between tools: GA4, Google Ads and your own sales system will not show the same numbers. Your sales system remains the reference for what was actually sold.
- A check in GA4: in Admin, under Data collection and modification, the consent settings show the consent signal details for each data stream.
A setup checklist
- A banner where refusing is as easy as accepting, in the visitor's language.
- Consent defaults set before any Google tag fires (denied for EEA visitors until they choose).
- An update sent to Google tags as soon as the visitor makes or changes a choice.
- All four signals sent, not just the two original storage ones.
- A test in GA4 and Google Ads after at least a week, checking that consent signals are received.
- A note of what was set up and when, so that any change in your reports can be traced back to it.
How we do it at Takat
On the 26 of our own sites that sell, we set up GA4 with a consent banner where Refuse is as easy as Accept, together with the e-commerce events add_to_cart, begin_checkout and purchase. We apply the same approach to client tracking work. See Tracking and our guide to GA4 key events.
Questions we get
Is Consent Mode the same as a cookie banner?
No. The banner asks the visitor and records the choice. Consent Mode passes that choice to Google tags so they adjust their behaviour. You need both.
What is new in Consent Mode v2?
Two signals were added: ad_user_data, for consent to send user data to Google for advertising, and ad_personalization, for consent to personalised advertising. Google expects them for visitors in the EEA.
What happens if I don't implement it for EEA visitors?
Google says that if you take no action, only users outside the EEA are included in audiences used by your linked advertising products, and you lose access to features such as ad personalisation and remarketing for EEA users.
Should I choose basic or advanced mode?
Basic mode sends nothing to Google until consent; advanced mode sends cookieless pings when consent is denied, which allows more detailed modelling. The choice also depends on your legal and privacy position, so decide it with whoever handles data protection in your business.
Sources
- Google Tag Platform: Consent mode overview (checked 2026-10-06)
- Google Ads Help: About consent mode (checked 2026-10-06)
- Google Ads Help: Updates to consent mode for traffic in the EEA (checked 2026-10-06)
- Analytics Help: Verify and update consent settings (checked 2026-10-06)