The story behind Google Consent Mode V2

Key takeaways

• Following the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), corporations are required as of March 7, 2024, to obtain user consent for data collection and processing and to be able to demonstrate compliance to regulators .
• With the revised version of its Consent Mode, Google is shifting this responsibility directly onto advertisers. To this end, the company has released a new version of Google Consent Mode .
• The deadline for implementing the new mode is March 6, 2024. Anyone not yet using Google Consent Mode v2 should expect tracking limitations.

What is Consent Mode?

To comply with the requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies must personal data and behavioral data such as conversions for the implementation and improvement of marketing activities only if they have obtained user consent .

Since user data powers various marketing tools like Google Analytics and Google Ads, many companies rely on its collection and use Consent Mode to do so. It transmits cookie and privacy settings from the cookie consent tool on your website to the Google services being used.

If users consent, Google services set cookies and read data from devices to better understand their users. This is not possible without consent. Depending on the Consent Mode configuration, however, it is possible to send data to Google – albeit without personal information.

To do this, Google uses ping information with reduced data. Google fills any resulting gaps using so-called data modeling, which is based on artificial intelligence.

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What changes with the new Google Consent Mode V2?

The most important change is that the use of Google Consent Mode has been mandatory since March 2024. The reason for this is the new DMA requirements. The Digital Markets Act requires large tech companies (gatekeepers) such as Google, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft to provide their users with granular consent for data collection.

To make it easier to comply with this obligation, Google has developed Consent Mode version 2 . Previously, only two settings were available:

• analytics_storage: Consent for storing data such as session duration or scroll depth for analytical purposes.
• ad_storage: Consent for setting and reading cookies.

The new version adds two additional settings that inform Google whether the collected data may be used for marketing purposes and/or for personalized advertising such as remarketing:

• ad_user_data: Consent for sending user data to Google for advertising purposes.
• ad_personalization: Consent to the activation of personalized advertising.

Is your company affected by Google Consent Mode V2?

Google Consent Mode V2 is mandatory for all advertisers who use Google Ads for personalized advertising and handle tracking with Google Analytics .

So, if you use Google services such as Google Analytics, Google Ads pixel, Google Tag Manager, or Google Ads on your website and collect data from users in the European Economic Area (EEA) , you most likely need to use Google Consent Mode V2.

Important: Google requires valid user consent not only for data collection on websites, but also when you upload data to Google marketing tools that originates from offline sources (such as offline conversions or in-store sales data), from apps, or from non-Google programs. Furthermore, this requirement applies regardless of where your company is located.

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How do you implement Google Consent Mode V2?

There are two implementation options for advertisers in V2:

• Consent Mode V2 Basic: Tracking pixels are blocked until the user provides consent. No data is sent to Google without consent—not even pings for data modeling.
• Consent Mode V2 Advanced: Even before consent is given, some information about website users is collected and sent to Google in the form of so-called pings. However, personally identifiable or personal data is only stored after consent has been granted.

Companies that want to be on the safe side regarding data protection should definitely seek the advice of their data protection officer for implementation.

In principle, however, it must be emphasized that only the Basic setting enables data-compliant handling of user data. Since the permissible reading of data from end devices depends on user consent, regardless of whether the data is personal or anonymous, the advanced consent mode poses risks for companies. Furthermore, the technical and time investment for the Basic mode is significantly lower than for the Advanced mode.

Consent Mode V2 not implemented. Are there consequences?

For companies using Google for marketing activities within the European Economic Area, there is no way around Consent Mode V2. With this new mandatory implementation, Google is passing the pressure from EU authorities on to its customers.

If they do not use the new Consent Mode after March 6, 2024, they face, among other things, restrictions on the use of remarketing, personalized advertising, and data measurement and reporting. Whether Google will go so far as to block marketing tools for companies remains to be seen.

What do companies need to do now?

If you do not want to forgo the features of Google Ads and Google Analytics in your marketing and wish to reach potential customers with targeted advertising, you must ensure that the Consent Mode correctly implemented is.

Your data protection officer can answer any questions you may have regarding data privacy for cookies, Consent Mode, and tracking. Our experts are also happy to answer any remaining questions.

It is important for websites to address this topic promptly. Among other things, consentmanager with support for Google Consent Mode v2 can help ensure tracking in GA4 and Google Ads.

By the way: Keeping track of updates like Consent Mode V2 is often a challenge for internal data protection officers. An external data protection officer keeps an eye on trends like the DMA or artificial intelligence for you and ensures that your company always makes the right decisions – to protect the data of your employees, customers, and partners.

Find out more about working with and the benefits of external data protection officers.