Google Consent Mode V2 in two minutes

Google has made the activation of Consent Mode mandatory for users of its products, such as Google Analytics and Google Ads. This mandates all users to modify how they convey user consent information to Google starting in March 2024. In this blog post, we will demystify this change and guide you through the compliance process with Google’s requirements.

What is Google Consent Mode?

Consent Mode lets you notify Google about user consent status regarding cookies or app identifiers. This adjusts how tags operate to respect user preferences.

While other tools and vendors receive a binary yes or no from users about tracking permission, Google requests more detailed information. In Consent Mode, Google asks you to specify the uses for which data can be collected and stored.

It integrates with your Consent Management Platform (CMP) or your tag management system, capturing users’ consent decisions and accordingly adjusting the functionality of Analytics, Ads, and other third-party tags that use or create cookies.

If visitors decline consent, tags don’t store cookies but instead send signals to Google. For Google Analytics 4 users, Google uses conversion and behavioral modeling to fill in data collection gaps.

Note: The compliance of these practices with GDPR is currently unclear, so consulting your data protection officer before deployment is advisable.

What is Google Consent Mode V2?

Originally, Consent Mode V1 was optional and limited to three data storage scenarios based on user consent. This is changing.

From March 2024, all Google Analytics, Google Ads, and other Google product users must permanently activate Consent Mode. The detail level for storage increases from three to six, requiring you to submit information for all six parameters to Google. These parameters are: ad_storage, ad_user_data, analytics_storage, functionality_storage, personalization_storage, and security_storage.

While this is mandatory, Google has not detailed the consequences of non-compliance, such as potential service disruption.

Activating Consent Mode V2: Key Considerations

There are two primary methods for submitting the necessary consent information for the six use cases to Google: through your Consent Management Platform (CMP) or your tag management system.

Submitting Parameters via Your CMP

You need to configure your CMP to submit the parameters correctly. The complexity of this task varies depending on your CMP or provider. Your provider should already have informed you about the necessary steps to adjust to the new framework. 

Submitting Parameters via your Tag Manager

Adjusting to Consent Mode V2 is simplest through your tag manager. However, using Google Tag Manager does not afford full control over the signals sent to Google’s servers before obtaining user consent.

JENTIS’s tag manager within the Data Capture Platform already supports Consent Mode V2. You can easily adjust the parameters you wish to submit to Google for each tool in just a minute. This ensures no signal is sent to Google without your explicit approval.

Adjusting to Google Consent Mode V2 in just a few clicks

Would you like to learn more about implementing Google Consent Mode V2 with JENTIS? Book a free consultation with our experts.

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