Guide · Microsoft Advertising

UET Consent Mode: consent on the Microsoft tag

The UET tag measures conversions and builds audiences for Microsoft Advertising. Since May 2025, visits from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland must arrive with a consent signal. See how to set it up, how to test it and how it differs from Google's Consent Mode.

Check my site's UET Read the guide

✓Based on the official Microsoft Advertising documentation
✓Ready-to-copy code
✓Read-only scan, no changes to the site

2025year the signal became mandatory for the EEA, UK and Switzerland, since May 5

1126Microsoft's number on the TCF vendor list

6Microsoft cookies that cannot be set without consent

75%minimum share of events with a valid signal for the dashboard to mark the tag as healthy

What it is

A consent notice for the Microsoft tag

UET, short for Universal Event Tracking, is the Microsoft Advertising tag. It records visits and conversions on the site to measure campaigns and build remarketing lists.

UET Consent Mode is the way to tell this tag about the visitor's choice in the cookie banner. With the signal in hand, the tag decides on its own whether it can set cookies and use identifiers or whether it must work in a limited way.

Today, Microsoft enforces the rule based on one main signal, ad_storage, which can be granted or denied. The site can also send ad_user_data and ad_personalization, the same names Google uses, but enforcement is based on ad_storage.

There is a second accepted path: instead of Consent Mode, the tag can read consent through IAB Europe's TCF. Microsoft advises choosing one of the two, never both at the same time.

Checklist

What you need to meet

If the site has the UET tag and receives visits from the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, these points need to be working.

Consent before activating UET
Where the law requires consent, such as in the EEA and the UK, the Microsoft Advertising contract requires consent before activating the tag. Cookies stored before the banner or after a refusal count as a violation.
Send the signal through Consent Mode or TCF
Since May 5, 2025, Microsoft requires Consent Mode or TCF from anyone with visitors from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Without a signal, it stops recording conversions and feeding remarketing.

Denied by default and update on choice

Right after the tag, set ad_storage to denied. When the visitor accepts, send granted and repeat the update on the following pages.

<!-- código da UET aqui -->
<script>
window.uetq = window.uetq || [];
window.uetq.push('consent', 'default', {
  'ad_storage': 'denied'
});
</script>

<!-- quando o visitante aceita -->
<script>
window.uetq = window.uetq || [];
window.uetq.push('consent', 'update', {
  'ad_storage': 'granted'
});
</script>

No cookies before the choice
The cookies MUID, _uetvid, _uetsid, _uetsid_exp, _uetvid_exp and MSPTC cannot be stored without consent.
Example
Open the site in an incognito window, click Reject and check that no _uet cookie appears.
Choose only one path
Use Consent Mode or TCF, never both at the same time. Microsoft itself gives this warning.

With TCF, include Microsoft and Xandr

Include Microsoft, vendor 1126, and Xandr, vendor 32, in the CMP. Without purposes 7, 9 and 10, no conversion is recorded.

<!-- antes do código da UET, em todas as páginas -->
<script>
window.uetq = window.uetq || [];
window.uetq.push('config', 'tcf', { 'enabled' : true });
</script>

CMP certified by Google for ads
For Google personalized ads, the EEA and the UK have required a TCF-certified CMP since January 16, 2024. Switzerland has required it since July 31, 2024.
Example
Choose a CMP certified by Google that also sends the signal to UET, so you use a single banner.

In practice

Right and wrong

WrongUET stores MUID and _uetvid before the visitor answers the banner.
RightUET loads with ad_storage denied and only stores cookies after the visitor accepts.
WrongThe visitor clicks Reject and UET stores the cookies anyway.
RightThe banner offers Accept and Reject, and rejecting blocks the UET cookies.

Official tools

Certified CMPs and official links

Microsoft publishes the list of CMPs with UET integration, and Google keeps the list of CMPs certified for the EEA, the UK and Switzerland.

Who it applies to

Who needs to worry about UET

The rule comes from the platform, not from a specific law. It applies to those who use the tag and receive visits from regions with prior consent.

Microsoft Advertising advertisers

Those who measure conversions or build audiences with UET must send the signal for visits from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland.

Publishers who buy traffic

AdSense sites that run Bing campaigns to attract visits usually have UET installed. The rule applies to them too.

Agencies and tag managers

Those who install UET through Google Tag Manager must turn on consent in the official template or in the custom code.

Outside the three regions

For visitors from other countries, if no signal is sent, UET considers consent granted. Local laws may require more.

Definitions

The terms in Microsoft's documentation

These names appear in the code, in the Microsoft Advertising dashboard and in the UET test extension.

ad_storage

The signal Microsoft enforces. When granted, UET reads and sets cookies. When denied, it does not set the site's own cookies or third-party cookies.

ad_user_data and ad_personalization

Optional signals the site can send, with the same names as Google's. Today Microsoft's enforcement is only on ad_storage.

asc parameter

A field sent in every UET event with the consent state: denied or granted. It is what you check in tests.

Microsoft cookies

MUID, _uetvid, _uetsid, _uetsid_exp, _uetvid_exp and MSPTC. None of them can be set without consent.

Consent signal column

In the tag dashboard, it shows whether the signal is healthy, above 75% of events, moderate or missing.

UET Tag Helper

Official extension for Edge and Chrome that shows each UET event and the asc value in real time.

The two modes

Advanced mode or basic mode

Both respect the visitor's choice. The difference is in what happens before the click on the banner.

Advanced mode

UET loads from the start with consent denied. Until there is a response, it collects only anonymous data, which is later aggregated for modeling. It is the mode Microsoft recommends.

Measures conversions better for those who declined
The tag is already ready when the visitor accepts
The denied default must be right on every page
Requires explaining this use in the privacy policy

Basic mode

UET is blocked and only loads after the visitor accepts. Before that, no data is sent to Microsoft.

Simpler to understand and to explain
Nothing leaves the site before the choice
Loses more conversions in reports
Depends on the CMP firing the tag at the right moment

How to implement

Setting up UET Consent Mode

Set the default right after the tagOn every page, right after the UET code, send the default with ad_storage denied for the regions that require consent.
Send the update on the choiceWhen the visitor accepts or declines in the banner, the CMP sends the update with the new ad_storage value.
Repeat the choice on the next pagesMicrosoft advises sending the update on the following pages as well, while the choice is valid.
Prefer an integrated CMPMany CMPs already send the signal to UET. In Google Tag Manager, use the official UET template with consent updates turned on.
Check with the UET Tag HelperBefore the click, events should show asc denied or not fire. After accepting, all should show asc granted.

Example based on the Microsoft Advertising documentation

<!-- código da UET aqui -->
<script>
  // 1. Padrão: negado até o visitante escolher
  window.uetq = window.uetq || [];
  window.uetq.push('consent', 'default', {
    'ad_storage': 'denied'
  });
</script>

<script>
  // 2. Quando o visitante aceita (a CMP faz isso)
  window.uetq = window.uetq || [];
  window.uetq.push('consent', 'update', {
    'ad_storage': 'granted'
  });
</script>

Alternative through TCF

Using TCF instead of Consent Mode

If the site already has a CMP with IAB Europe's TCF, UET can read the TC string directly. For this, a small configuration snippet turns on TCF in UET and must come before the tag code on every page.

In the banner, include Microsoft, vendor 1126, and Xandr, vendor 32. Microsoft asks for consent for purposes 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 and 10. Without purposes 7, 9 and 10, no conversion is recorded. Without purpose 1, the tag does not use cookies.

If the CMP does not respond within 500 milliseconds or is in an error or loading state, UET keeps working without TCF. So a slow CMP can cause the signal to be lost.

Microsoft Advertising has accepted TCF since July 24, 2023. The golden rule is to choose only one path: Consent Mode or TCF.

Timeline

When each rule started to apply

The dates that most affect those who have visits from Europe in Microsoft campaigns.

July 24, 2023
TCF support
Microsoft Advertising starts accepting consent through IAB Europe's TCF.
March 31, 2025
Official notice
Microsoft publishes the notice asking advertisers to send consent signals by May 5.
May 5, 2025
Signal required in the EEA, UK and Switzerland
Microsoft starts enforcing Consent Mode or TCF for all customers with visitors from these regions.

Enforcement and AdSense

What happens without the signal and where Google comes in

Enforcement is done by the platform itself. According to Microsoft, if the site uses UET without Consent Mode and without TCF, it stops recording UET conversions and feeding remarketing lists for that traffic. Campaigns lose data and optimization gets worse.

The Microsoft Advertising agreement also requires consent where the law asks for it, as in the EEA and the UK. Cookies set before the click on the banner or after a refusal are treated as a violation.

For those with AdSense or Ad Manager, UET is one more tag on the same page. Google's Consent Mode takes care of Google tags, and TCF takes care of the ads. UET must receive its own signal from the same CMP.

The big difference from Google is that Microsoft enforces only ad_storage and accepts TCF as an alternative to Consent Mode, while Google works with four signals. The similar names cause confusion, but the commands are separate.

Common errors

What most often drops UET conversions

Most appear on sites that set up Google's Consent Mode and thought Microsoft was covered.

Only Google receives the signal

The CMP sends Google's Consent Mode, but sends nothing to UET. For Microsoft, the signal is missing.

Consent Mode and TCF together

The site turns on both paths at the same time. Microsoft advises using only one.

Cookies before the click

UET loads without a denied default and sets MUID or _uetvid before the visitor chooses.

Update only on the first page

The choice is sent on the click, but not on the following pages. Conversion events go out without the right asc.

Incomplete TCF purposes

The banner does not ask for purposes 7, 9 and 10. Even with acceptance, no conversion is recorded.

Microsoft missing from the banner

Microsoft, vendor 1126, does not appear in the CMP's list. The TC string never gives it permission.

In practice

What is and is not allowed with UET

Practical examples for sites with visits from Europe and other countries.

Allowed

Using advanced mode with a denied default in the EEA, UK and Switzerland
Leaving UET with a granted default outside these regions, if local law allows
Using the official UET template in Google Tag Manager
Choosing TCF instead of Consent Mode, if the CMP already uses TCF
Checking the consent signal column in the dashboard

Not allowed

Turning on Consent Mode and TCF at the same time
Setting Microsoft cookies before the click on the banner
Continuing to set cookies after a refusal
Thinking Google's Consent Mode covers UET
Asking for only TCF purpose 1 and expecting to see conversions

In ConsentMode

What the audit checks about UET

Detects the UET tag on the page and opens the site as a visitor from Europe and from outside it.
Checks whether there is a consent default right after the tag and which ad_storage value it uses.
Checks whether cookies such as MUID and _uetvid appear before the click or after a refusal.
Sees whether the site uses Consent Mode, TCF or both, and whether Microsoft is on the CMP's list.
Delivers screenshots and the adjustment to make in the CMP, in GTM or in the tag code.

Run an audit See everything that is checked

Frequently asked questions

Does Google's Consent Mode already take care of UET?

Not necessarily. They are separate commands. Some CMPs and the official UET template in GTM pass the signal along, but you need to check whether UET is receiving ad_storage.

Do I need to send ad_user_data and ad_personalization to Microsoft?

You can, but today Microsoft only enforces ad_storage. Sending the other two does no harm and makes the code look like Google's.

My site is Brazilian. Do I need this?

Only for visits from the EEA, UK and Switzerland. Outside these regions, UET considers consent granted when no signal is sent, but local law may require more.

Which mode should I choose?

Microsoft recommends advanced mode, which measures better for those who decline. Basic is simpler and sends nothing before the choice. Validate with your legal team.

How do I know if it is working?

Use the UET Tag Helper and look at the asc on each event, or check the consent signal column in the tag dashboard. A ConsentMode audit also shows this with screenshots.

Library

Official sources

This guide was written from these official pages. Read them directly at the source:

Find out whether UET is receiving consent

The audit opens the site as a European visitor and shows what the Microsoft tag does before and after the choice.

Start the audit