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Configuring Google Consent Mode v2

Configuring Google Consent Mode v2 for privacy-compliant measurement and advertising. Covers default and update commands, consent state mapping to GA4 and Google Ads, conversion modeling with cookieless pings, and EEA requirements effective March 2024.

ID: general.data-protection.google-consent-mode-v2 Version: 0.1.0 License: Apache-2.0 Author: mukul975 Language: en Added: 2026-06-01
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Configuring Google Consent Mode v2

Overview

Google Consent Mode v2 is a framework that adjusts the behavior of Google tags (Analytics, Ads, Floodlight) based on user consent status. Announced in November 2023 with enforcement beginning March 2024, Consent Mode v2 introduces two new parameters — ad_user_data and ad_personalization — alongside the existing analytics_storage and ad_storage parameters. For advertisers serving users in the European Economic Area (EEA), implementing Consent Mode v2 is required to maintain measurement and audience capabilities in Google Ads and GA4. Without it, Google will not process EEA user data for remarketing lists or conversion measurement.

Consent Mode v2 Parameters

Parameter Definitions

Parameter Controls Default Description
ad_storage Advertising cookies denied Controls whether advertising-related cookies (gcl*, IDE) can be read/written
ad_user_data User data for advertising denied Controls whether user data can be sent to Google for advertising purposes
ad_personalization Ad personalization denied Controls whether data can be used for remarketing and personalized ads
analytics_storage Analytics cookies denied Controls whether analytics cookies (_ga, _gid) can be read/written
functionality_storage Functionality cookies granted Controls functionality cookies (language preferences)
personalization_storage Personalization cookies denied Controls personalization cookies (recommendations)
security_storage Security cookies granted Controls security-related cookies (authentication, fraud prevention)

Consent State Mapping for Pinnacle E-Commerce Ltd

Map CMP consent categories to Consent Mode parameters:

CMP Category ad_storage ad_user_data ad_personalization analytics_storage
All rejected (default) denied denied denied denied
Analytics only denied denied denied granted
Analytics + Advertising granted granted granted granted
Analytics + Advertising (no personalization) granted granted denied granted
All accepted granted granted granted granted

Implementation

Basic Implementation (Google Tag / gtag.js)

Step 1: Set defaults before any Google tags load

Place this script in the <head> before the Google tag:

<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}

// Set default consent state — deny all non-essential before user interaction
gtag('consent', 'default', {
  'ad_storage': 'denied',
  'ad_user_data': 'denied',
  'ad_personalization': 'denied',
  'analytics_storage': 'denied',
  'functionality_storage': 'granted',
  'personalization_storage': 'denied',
  'security_storage': 'granted',
  'wait_for_update': 500  // Wait 500ms for CMP to load
});

// Enable URL passthrough for conversion measurement without cookies
gtag('set', 'url_passthrough', true);

// Enable ads data redaction when ad_storage is denied
gtag('set', 'ads_data_redaction', true);
</script>

Step 2: Load the Google tag

<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-PINNACLE123"></script>
<script>
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'G-PINNACLE123');
</script>

Step 3: Update consent state when user interacts with CMP

// Called by the CMP when user makes a consent choice
function updateGoogleConsent(consentState) {
  gtag('consent', 'update', {
    'ad_storage': consentState.advertising ? 'granted' : 'denied',
    'ad_user_data': consentState.advertising ? 'granted' : 'denied',
    'ad_personalization': consentState.personalization ? 'granted' : 'denied',
    'analytics_storage': consentState.analytics ? 'granted' : 'denied'
  });
}

Google Tag Manager Implementation

Step 1: Configure Consent Initialization trigger

In GTM, use the "Consent Initialization — All Pages" trigger type for the default consent tag. This fires before all other triggers.

Default Consent Tag (Consent Initialization trigger):

Setting Value
Tag type Google tag: Consent configuration
Action Default
ad_storage Denied
ad_user_data Denied
ad_personalization Denied
analytics_storage Denied
Wait for update 500 ms
URL passthrough Enabled
Ads data redaction Enabled

Step 2: Configure Consent Update tag

Create a custom HTML tag or use a CMP-specific template that fires on consent change:

Update Consent Tag (Custom Event trigger: consent_update):

Setting Value
Tag type Google tag: Consent configuration
Action Update
ad_storage {{CMP - Ad Storage Consent}}
ad_user_data {{CMP - Ad User Data Consent}}
ad_personalization {{CMP - Ad Personalization Consent}}
analytics_storage {{CMP - Analytics Storage Consent}}

Step 3: Configure tag consent settings

For each Google tag in GTM, configure the built-in consent checks:

Tag Required Consent Additional Consent
GA4 Configuration analytics_storage —
GA4 Event analytics_storage —
Google Ads Conversion ad_storage ad_user_data
Google Ads Remarketing ad_storage ad_user_data, ad_personalization
Floodlight Counter ad_storage ad_user_data
Floodlight Sales ad_storage ad_user_data

Region-Specific Settings

Apply different defaults based on user geography:

// Strict defaults for EEA users
gtag('consent', 'default', {
  'ad_storage': 'denied',
  'ad_user_data': 'denied',
  'ad_personalization': 'denied',
  'analytics_storage': 'denied',
  'region': ['AT', 'BE', 'BG', 'HR', 'CY', 'CZ', 'DK', 'EE', 'FI', 'FR',
             'DE', 'GR', 'HU', 'IE', 'IT', 'LV', 'LT', 'LU', 'MT', 'NL',
             'PL', 'PT', 'RO', 'SK', 'SI', 'ES', 'SE', 'IS', 'LI', 'NO']
});

// Less restrictive defaults for US users (adjust per state law)
gtag('consent', 'default', {
  'ad_storage': 'granted',
  'ad_user_data': 'granted',
  'ad_personalization': 'granted',
  'analytics_storage': 'granted',
  'region': ['US']
});

Conversion Modeling and Cookieless Pings

How Consent Mode Preserves Measurement

When consent is denied, Google tags still send cookieless pings that include:

  • Page URL (with ads_data_redaction applied)
  • Timestamp
  • User agent
  • Referrer (if ads_data_redaction is false)
  • Aggregate consent state

Google uses these pings, combined with data from consenting users, to build machine learning models that estimate:

  • Conversion modeling: Estimated conversions from users who did not consent to ad_storage
  • Behavioral modeling in GA4: Estimated user counts and session metrics for non-consenting users

Conversion Modeling Requirements

For Google to generate modeled conversions, Pinnacle E-Commerce Ltd must meet:

Requirement Threshold
Minimum consented conversions per day 70+ per conversion action
Minimum total conversions per day 100+ per conversion action
Consent Mode implemented for At least 7 consecutive days
Tag coverage All conversion-relevant pages

GA4 Behavioral Modeling

GA4 behavioral modeling fills gaps in analytics data:

Requirement Threshold
Minimum daily consented users 1,000+ per property
Minimum days of data 7+ consecutive days
Consent Mode coverage All GA4 pageview and event tags

Verification and Debugging

Google Tag Assistant Verification

Use Google Tag Assistant (browser extension) to verify:

  1. Default consent fires before tags: Check that consent defaults appear before the Google tag configuration in the Tag Assistant timeline
  2. Update consent fires on CMP interaction: Verify consent update events appear when the user interacts with the cookie banner
  3. Tag behavior matches consent state: Confirm that GA4 and Ads tags fire (or are blocked) based on consent

Real-Time Debugging

In GA4 DebugView, consent-impacted events display with:

  • A "consent" badge showing current consent state
  • Missing user/session IDs when analytics_storage is denied
  • Cookieless ping indicators

Network-Level Verification

Monitor network requests to https://www.google-analytics.com/g/collect:

Parameter Consent Granted Consent Denied
_p (Page ID) Present Present
cid (Client ID) From _ga cookie Randomly generated per-hit
gcs (Consent State) G111 (all granted) G100 (all denied)
gcd (Consent Default) Present Present
Cookie set _ga, _gid None

EEA Requirements (March 2024)

Google's Digital Markets Act (DMA) compliance requirements:

  1. Consent Mode v2 mandatory: All advertisers targeting EEA users must implement Consent Mode v2 to maintain remarketing lists and conversion measurement
  2. ad_user_data and ad_personalization required: The two new v2 parameters must be set; omitting them is treated as "denied"
  3. Verified CMP recommended: Google recommends using a Google-certified CMP partner for EU consent collection
  4. Enhanced Conversions with consent: Enhanced Conversions (first-party data matching) requires ad_user_data = granted

Key References

  • Google Consent Mode v2 Documentation — Official implementation guide
  • Google Tag Manager Consent Configuration — GTM-specific setup instructions
  • Google Ads DMA Compliance Guide (March 2024) — EEA-specific requirements
  • EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) Regulation 2022/1925 — Legal basis for Google's consent requirements
  • ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 5(3) — Cookie consent legal basis
  • CJEU Case C-673/17 (Planet49) — Active consent requirements applicable to consent mode default states

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