Google Consent Mode tells Google’s tags, such as Google Analytics and Google Ads, what a visitor has agreed to. It is not a law, but without consent signals Google limits ad personalisation, remarketing and measurement for affected visitors, such as those in the EEA.
What it is
Your cookie banner asks the visitor, and Consent Mode passes the answer on to Google’s tags. Version 2 added two signals, ad_user_data and ad_personalization, so there are four in all: ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization.
Which sites it affects
According to the Consent Mode guide, it affects sites that use Google Ads, or use Google Analytics data in Google’s ad products, and have visitors in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland. Since March 2024, Google has required consent signals for visitors in the EEA to keep ad personalisation, remarketing and measurement working.
Consent Mode is a framework, not a law. The regulations hub lists it separately from the privacy laws, and each entry links to a guide on what the law asks of your website. Under the GDPR, for example, you need opt-in consent, given by a clear affirmative action, before setting non-essential cookies, although the UK now exempts some low-risk cookies.
What it asks of your site
The guide sets out what Consent Mode v2 requires:
- Set a default consent state before any Google tag sends data, using gtag(’consent’, ’default’, …) or Tag Manager’s consent settings.
- Set ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization based on the visitor’s consent.
- Update the consent state when the visitor changes their preferences.
The guide lists one further requirement, which applies if you show personalised ads through AdSense, Ad Manager or AdMob to visitors in the EEA, UK or Switzerland. If you do, read that requirement in the guide.
What the signals say
The guide’s table shows the signals sent after each of two choices. After Accept all, ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization are all granted. After Reject all, all four are denied.
On GrantCookie’s Growth and Scale plans, when a visitor declines, Google’s tags stay loaded but switch to cookieless pings, so Google can still model conversions without setting the cookies the visitor refused.
How GrantCookie handles it
- On the Growth and Scale plans, the banner sends the four Consent Mode v2 signals from the visitor’s choice.
- Where opt-in applies, non-Google tags stay blocked until the visitor gives consent.
- Each choice is stored with the time in UTC, a consent ID and the categories allowed, and the record keeps the banner version the visitor saw.
- A re-open control stays on every page, so visitors can withdraw or change their choice at any time.
To go live, paste one script tag into the head of your site, before your analytics tags. There are set-up guides for WordPress, Shopify and Wix, and any other site works through Google Tag Manager or the JavaScript API.
Growth is $29 a month and Scale $79, or $23 and $63 a month billed annually, in US dollars excluding local tax. Both have a 14-day trial, with no card needed to start. The pricing page compares the plans, and the features page covers cookie blocking and Consent Mode.
Before you set it up
Check what your site loads today. The free cookie scanner checks one public page for the known trackers and third-party services in its HTML and the cookies its server sets, with no account needed. Then read the Consent Mode guide, which is general guidance, not legal advice.