Consent Mode v2 signals
Consent Mode v2 is Google's updated mechanism for passing a user's consent choices to Google tags, extending the original analytics and ad-storage signals with two advertising-focused parameters. When consent is absent, tags adjust behaviour rather than firing fully. This page explains the v2 signals and how they shape what data Google tags collect.
What changed in v2
The original Consent Mode exposed parameters such as analytics_storage and ad_storage that controlled whether Google tags could use cookies for analytics and advertising. Consent Mode v2 adds two further signals — ad_user_data (consent to send user data to Google for advertising) and ad_personalization (consent for personalised advertising/remarketing) — to capture choices more granularly.
Google documents these as part of how its tags should receive consent state, with the signals set to granted or denied based on the user's choice.
How signals gate behaviour
When a relevant signal is denied, the tag does not behave as if full consent were given. Depending on configuration, denied analytics or ad storage can switch a tag into a cookieless, pinged mode that sends limited, non-identifying signals, while denied advertising data and personalisation restrict how data is used for ads. The exact effect depends on the implementation and whether basic or advanced mode is used.
- Adds ad_user_data and ad_personalization signals
- Denied signals adjust, not just block, tag behaviour
- Effects differ between basic and advanced implementations
How it appears in analytics and logs
Missing or denied advertising signals in Consent Mode v2 change tag behaviour — for instance limiting ad personalisation — which can explain gaps versus a fully consented baseline.
Diagnostic use case
Map your consent banner choices onto the correct Consent Mode v2 signals so Google tags collect only what the user permitted.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID's first-party model does not depend on Google ad-consent signals, but understanding Consent Mode v2 helps reconcile Google-tag data with first-party counts.
Common mistakes
- Hardcoding signals to 'granted' regardless of the user's choice.
- Confusing analytics_storage with the new advertising signals.
- Assuming Consent Mode itself supplies a lawful basis.
Privacy and accuracy notes
This page is educational and not legal advice. Consent Mode signals must reflect a genuine, valid consent choice; the technology does not establish a lawful basis on its own.
Related pages
- Consent mode and analytics
Google's Consent Mode lets tags read consent-state signals (such as analytics_storage and ad_storage) and adapt: when consent is denied, tags can send cookieless pings or send nothing, and gaps may be statistically modelled. It is a tag-behaviour mechanism, not a consent banner, and it does not by itself make collection lawful. This is an educational overview, not legal advice.
- Consent banners and analytics
A consent banner (or CMP) is the interface that asks visitors to accept or refuse non-essential storage and processing. For consent to be valid under EU rules it must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous — which rules out pre-ticked boxes and 'accept-only' dark patterns. Reducing what needs consent in the first place is the cleaner path. This is educational, not legal advice.
- The IAB TCF and the consent string
The IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) is an industry standard for capturing and communicating users' consent choices across the advertising supply chain. A consent management platform encodes the user's choices into a standardised 'TC string' that downstream vendors read. It is widely used in ad tech and can touch analytics tied to it. This is an educational overview, not legal advice.
- Privacy-first analytics
First-party counts independent of ad-consent signals.
Sources and verification notes
- Google — Consent Mode and consent settings (Tag Platform docs)Official documentation of consent signals, including v2 parameters.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.