Google Consent Mode 2
If you need to comply with Google Consent Mode 2, or have been asked by Google to apply enhanced consent handling for data on your site, we recommend using Cookiebot. Continue reading for more information about Google Consent Mode, and see the Adding Cookiebot document to learn how to enable it for your site.
Google Consent Mode
Google now requires (as of March 6th, 2024) that all advertisers send verifiable consent signals to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive (ePD). This requirement applies to anyone setting up new ad campaigns via Google Ads products within the European Economic Area (EEA).
Verifiable consent signals are are a way to ensure that a visitor's consent choices are shared consistently and repeatably between a publisher and a vendor. The most common method for sending consent signals involves setting up tracking using Google’s analytics tools: Google Ads, Floodlight, and Google Analytics. Most advertisements pass these signals into Google Tag Manager.
Compliance
The main function of the consent signal requirements is ensuring that user consent preferences are sent to Google. Since CMP tools already collect consent, they are well-suited to integrate the signals being sent to Google. Without Code does not have an integrated several Consent Management Platform (CMP), but this can be accomplished using third party CMPs, such as Cookiebot.
What is Consent Mode?
Consent Mode allows Google to load lightweight, privacy-friendly tracking before users consent to being tracked. This data does not go directly into reporting tools since it cannot be linked to an individual site user. Instead, Google uses this data to create user behavior models for high-traffic campaigns.
Consent Mode also provides the API and path for CMP tools to communicate with Google Tags about the consent status of the user on the site and what types of categories/services the user has opted into.
Why is this important?
Following Google's March 2024 policy update, websites that do not obtain consent from visitors in the EEA, EU, or UK and do not have banners integrated with Consent Mode v2 may experience measurement loss for Google Ad campaigns.
To continue using measurement, ad personalization, and remarketing features, opt-in consent is required from end users in these regions for the use of their data. These consent signals must be shared with Google. These requirements also apply to using Google Analytics data with any Google service.