analytics_storageMeasurement
Allows setting analytics cookies, such as those of Google Analytics, to count visits and understand browsing.
If denied: Analytics sets no cookies; in advanced mode, it sends cookieless signals for modeling.
Complete guide · updated November 2026
Google Consent Mode v2, explained the simple way
What changes, who needs it, how to set it up and the mistakes that make a site lose measurement and ads in Europe. With ready-made examples and ConsentMode's automatic check.
- ✓Based on Google's official rules
- ✓Ready-to-copy code
- ✓Read-only scan, no changes to the site
4consent signals
2modes: basic and advanced
3regions with their own rule: EEA, UK and Switzerland
2024year it became mandatory for ads in Europe
What it is
A translator between the cookie banner and Google tags
The visitor chooses in the banner what they accept: measurement, ads, use of data for ads and personalization. Consent Mode is the way to tell Google tags (Analytics, Google Ads, AdSense, Ad Manager, Floodlight) about that choice, in real time, before any cookie is set.
With the answer in hand, each tag changes its behavior on its own. If the person accepted, the tag sets cookies and measures normally. If they declined, the tag sets nothing and, in advanced mode, sends only a cookieless signal, which Google uses to estimate the conversions that were no longer measured.
Version 2 arrived in 2024 with two new signals, ad_user_data and ad_personalization, required by the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Without them, Google does not use the data of European visitors to build audiences, do remarketing or personalize ads.
The signals
The 4 signals Google reads
Each can be granted or denied. The last two are the new ones in version 2.
ad_storageAd cookies
Allows setting advertising cookies, used to measure conversions and limit how many times an ad appears.
If denied: no ad cookie is set or read.
ad_user_datanew in v2Data sent for ads
Says whether the visitor's data can be sent to Google for advertising purposes, such as measuring a purchase made after a click.
If denied: that person's data does not enter ad measurement or audience lists.
ad_personalizationnew in v2Personalized ads
Says whether the person accepts seeing ads based on what they did before, such as remarketing and similar audiences.
If denied: the person is not included in remarketing and only sees non-personalized ads.
The two modes
Basic or advanced: which to choose
Both respect the visitor's choice. The difference is in what happens before the response and after a refusal.
Basic mode
Google tags only load after the person responds to the banner. If they decline, nothing is sent to Google.
- Simpler to understand and to explain to the legal team.
- No data leaves before the choice.
- Google only has generic modeling for those who declined.
- Loses more conversions in the report.
Advanced mode recommended by Google
Tags load from the start with everything denied. While there is no consent, they send only cookieless signals that do not identify the person.
- Google estimates the conversions of those who declined (modeling).
- Reports closer to reality.
- Requires reviewing the privacy policy to mention these signals.
- The setup must be right before any tag.
Rule of thumb: if the site invests in Google Ads or depends on conversion reports, advanced mode is usually worth it. If the site only shows AdSense ads and makes little use of Analytics, basic mode is enough.
Timeline
When each rule started to apply
The dates that most affect those with visitors in Europe.
- November 2023
Google announces Consent Mode v2
The ad_user_data and ad_personalization signals arrive, to meet the European Union's Digital Markets Act.
- January 16, 2024
Certified CMP for publishers
To show personalized ads from AdSense, Ad Manager and AdMob in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, the site now needs a CMP certified by Google and integrated with the IAB TCF.
- March 2024
v2 signals mandatory for advertisers
Without the new signals, Google stops using EEA visitor data for audiences, remarketing and personalization in Google Ads.
- July 31, 2024
Switzerland joins the rule
The certified CMP requirement for personalized ads now also applies to visitors from Switzerland.
- July 2025
Connected TV and measurement
The certified CMP requirement now applies to connected TV inventory. In the same month, advertisers reported that accounts without v2 lost measurement features for EEA and UK traffic.
Who needs it
Does this apply to your site?
Publishers with AdSense or Ad Manager
If the site receives visits from Europe, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, it needs a certified CMP with TCF to keep personalized ads. Consent Mode completes the setup when the site also uses Analytics or Google Ads.
Advertisers with Google Ads and Analytics
Those who measure conversions or build audiences with European visitors must send the 4 signals. Without them, campaigns lose remarketing and part of the measurement.
Sites with an audience outside Europe
It is not mandatory for visitors from other countries, but the setup must use regions. Denying everything to the whole world, or showing the European message in Brazil, drops measurement and ads for no reason.
How to implement
5 steps to set it up right
- Choose a CMP certified by GoogleThe official list is in the Google Help Center. The Privacy message from AdSense and Ad Manager itself is also certified.
- Set the default before any tagThe default command must come at the top of the head, before gtag.js, GTM and the ad code.
- Use regionsDeny by default only where the law requires prior consent (EEA, UK and Switzerland) and leave it granted in the rest of the world, if local law allows.
- Send the update when the person choosesThe CMP calls the update with the 4 signals as soon as the visitor clicks accept, reject or save preferences.
- Check the resultIn Google Tag Assistant or a ConsentMode audit: the default appears before the tags and the update right after the choice.
// 1. Padrão: negado no EEE, Reino Unido e Suíça
gtag('consent', 'default', {
ad_storage: 'denied',
ad_user_data: 'denied',
ad_personalization: 'denied',
analytics_storage: 'denied',
region: ['AT', 'BE', 'DE', 'ES', 'FR', 'IT', 'PT', … 'GB', 'CH'],
wait_for_update: 500
});
// 2. Resto do mundo
gtag('consent', 'default', {
ad_storage: 'granted',
ad_user_data: 'granted',
ad_personalization: 'granted',
analytics_storage: 'granted'
});
// 3. Quando o visitante escolhe (a CMP faz isso)
gtag('consent', 'update', {
ad_storage: 'granted',
ad_user_data: 'granted',
ad_personalization: 'denied',
analytics_storage: 'granted'
});The full list of regions has the 27 European Union countries, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Check with your legal team whether other countries in your audience also require prior consent.
Common errors
What most often drops measurement and ads
All appear on real sites and go unnoticed, because the banner keeps appearing normally.
Default set after the tags
gtag.js or GTM load before the default command. In that gap, cookies were already set without consent.
v2 signals missing
The site sends ad_storage and analytics_storage, but not ad_user_data and ad_personalization. For Google, it is as if the European visitor had declined personalized ads.
Everything denied worldwide
Without regions, visitors from Brazil or the United States also start with everything denied. Measurement drops with no legal requirement for it.
European message outside Europe
The CMP shows the TCF message to people who are not in Europe. This gets in the way of browsing and reduces the number of visitors who see ads.
Banner without a decline option
There is only an Accept button, or Decline is hidden on another screen. In Europe, declining must be as easy as accepting.
CMP not certified by Google
An ordinary cookie plugin is not enough for personalized ads in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Without a certified CMP, AdSense and Ad Manager show only limited or non-personalized ads.
In ConsentMode
The audit checks all of this on its own, page by page
- Opens the site as a visitor from Europe and as a visitor from outside, on mobile and desktop.
- Checks whether the default command comes before the tags and whether the 4 signals are there.
- Sees in which countries the consent message appears and whether it appears where it should not.
- Identifies the CMP and says whether it is on Google's list of certified CMPs.
- Shows where to fix it, with a screenshot and the path in WordPress, GTM or the CMP.
Frequently asked questions
Questions that always come up
Does Consent Mode replace the cookie banner?
No. The banner (the CMP) asks and stores the choice. Consent Mode only carries that choice to Google tags. One does not work without the other.
My site is Brazilian. Do I need this?
If you have visitors from Europe, the United Kingdom or Switzerland and use Google ads or Analytics, yes, for those visitors. For the Brazilian audience, the LGPD also asks for transparency, but Google does not require Consent Mode. Use regions so you do not deny everything in Brazil.
Does using Consent Mode lower AdSense revenue?
Not by itself. What reduces revenue is not having a certified CMP in the EEA, UK and Switzerland, or denying consent worldwide unnecessarily. Set up with regions, the rest of the traffic goes on as normal.
What is the difference between TCF and Consent Mode?
TCF is the industry standard (IAB Europe) that certified CMPs use to record consent and pass it to all ad partners. Consent Mode is Google's way of receiving that information in its own tags. A certified CMP usually takes care of both.
How do I know if it is working?
Open the site in an incognito tab, use Google Tag Assistant and see whether the default appears before the tags and the update right after the click on the banner. Or run an audit in ConsentMode, which does this check as a visitor from Europe and from outside it.
Is advanced mode allowed by law?
It sends cookieless signals that do not identify the person, but the interpretation varies by country. Explain this use in the privacy policy and validate with your legal team before turning it on.
Find out in minutes whether your Consent Mode is right
The audit reads the whole site like Google, without changing anything, and shows exactly what to fix.
Official sources: About consent mode (Google Ads) · Consent Mode guide for developers · European regulations for publishers (AdSense) · Google-certified CMPs.