Google Consent Mode v2: what’s new and what’s needed?

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Google Consent Mode v2: what’s new and what’s needed?

Introduction and Challenges
In summary
What is Google Consent Mode?
What's new with Google Ads?
What actions should be taken and when?
The new features of Google Consent Mode v2 for Google Ads
A regulatory obligation: the DMA
New consent signals
New forms of consent
Google Consent Mode v2 for Google Analytics?
How to validate your implementation of Google Consent Mode?
How are consent signals sent to Google?
With Consent Mode v1: the gcs parameter
With Consent Mode v2: the gcd parameter as well
So EdgeAngel, what needs to be done?
You do not have a CMP (Consent Management Platform)
You have a CMP in place without Consent Mode
You have a CMP in place with Consent Mode

Introduction and Challenges

In November 2023, Google introduced new features for Google Consent Mode dedicated to users located in Europe (EEA) in a new version: Google Consent Mode v2. Some of these new features (new ad_user_data, ad_personalization, Basic and Advanced Consent Mode, ...) are critical for preserving your media performances with Google Ads and require actions to be implemented before March 2024.

In summary

What is Google Consent Mode?

Google Consent Mode is a feature that allows you to adjust the behavior of Google tags and SDKs (Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, Floodlight and Conversion Linker) based on the consent status of users and allows Google to fill in data gaps at the conversion level when the user has not given their consent using modeling.

What's new with Google Ads?

The introduction of 2 new consent parameters for advertising (in addition to ad_storage):

ad_user_data
ad_personalization

Several possible modes for adjusting the behavior of Google tags and SDKs:

Advanced Consent Mode
Basic Consent Mode

What actions should be taken and when?

These new features are related to Google's need to comply with the requirements of the Digital Markets Act by March 6, 2024.

It is necessary to implement these new consent signals by March 2024. For that, several possibilities:

Directly with your Consent Management Platform (CMP) compatible with GCM v2: Didomi, Cookie Consent, …
From Google Tag Manager at the level of Google tags (Google Ads and Analytics)
From the Google tag (gtag.js) directly in the site code
From the Google SDK used for your mobile application

If you do not implement the necessary actions, you will no longer be able to use the data collected in Europe for the Google Ads audience features (for example, remarketing features).

The new features of Google Consent Mode v2 for Google Ads

A regulatory obligation: the DMA

The EU legislation on digital markets, known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), has come into effect to ensure contestability and fairness in the digital sector.

This legislation defines a threshold beyond which a large online platform such as Google with its Google Ads and Google Analytics services can be considered an 'access controller'. These platforms, as major access points between businesses and consumers, can act as private regulators, creating bottlenecks in the digital economy.

To address these problems, the DMA imposes obligations on gatekeepers, including the prohibition of certain behaviors. Platforms reaching the established thresholds had the obligation to inform the Commission of their essential services by July 3, 2023, and the Commission established the list of gatekeepers. These then have six months, until March 6, 2024, to comply with the DMA requirements.

It is in this context that Google introduced Google Consent Mode v2 for Google Ads at the end of 2023, with a necessary implementation before March 2024 to retain certain features such as those related to audiences.

New consent signals

Google introduces two new consent parameters for advertising (in addition to ad_storage):

ad_user_data: use of user data for advertising purposes
ad_personalization: personalization of advertisements (remarketing)

These two new consent signals allow a finer granularity for advertising purposes which was previously reduced to ad_storage only. With this evolution, beyond consent for cookie deposit or other tracker (ad_storage), it is now possible for users to indicate whether or not they wish to share their data (ad_user_data) and also their choice concerning retargeting by new personalized ads subsequently (ad_personalization).

If ad_user_data or ad_personalization are not sent or are denied :

User data (user-provided data or 1st-party data) are particularly critical in a context of the end of 3rd-party cookies for Google Chrome in 2024. More information in our expert note Privacy Sandbox: changes are coming to Google Chrome

New forms of consent

Google introduces two forms of consent:

Advanced Consent Mode
Basic Consent Mode

Depending on the chosen mode, the data shared with Google Ads for an advertising objective are different:

With the Advanced Consent Mode, the behavior of Google tags / SDKs adjusts according to user consent: placing a cookie, sending user data, remarketing feature.

Attention point!

If ad_user_data or ad_personalization are denied : it will not be possible to use the audience features on Google

:::

This feature allows you to optimize the signals sent to Google Ads to the maximum, which gives you a view of conversions and conversion rates as close to reality as possible thanks to modeling, and therefore better data to optimize your media performance.

With the Basic Consent Mode, Google tags / SDKs are blocked until the user has not given positive consent to consent signals. No data is collected without consent.

Google will only use the data consented to here to model the behavior of users who have not given their positive consent. The modeling is a bit less close to reality than the Advanced Consent Mode.

Our view

If your choices in terms of GDPR compliance and your data protection policy allow it, we recommend the implementation of Advanced Consent Mode for Google Consent Mode v2.

With this mode, more signals and therefore a better modeling allowing you to seek more performance for your Google Ads acquisition.

This is especially the case if Google requires Advanced Consent Mode to benefit from the behavior modeling in Google Analytics (to be followed in the coming weeks 👀) and this is an important feature for your analyses.

Google Consent Mode v2 for Google Analytics?

While waiting for more official documentation from Google for Google Analytics (potentially indicating a specific impact of Google Consent Mode v2 on GA4 data), we recommend considering that Google Consent Mode v2 only concerns Google Ads and the advertising signals sent to Google Ads via Google Analytics.

Our view

If you are using Google Analytics solely for audience measurement without using the collected data for Google Ads: no impact and no action to anticipate for GA4 at the moment.

To date, all official Google documents are not yet available however. To be continued... 👀

How to validate your implementation of Google Consent Mode?

We have developed the Chrome extension Consent Mode Helper to easily validate the correct implementation of Google Consent Mode, especially Consent Mode v2:

How are consent signals sent to Google?

Let's get started with a slightly more technical analysis 🤓

With Consent Mode v1: the gcs parameter

When Google Consent Mode is activated, whether with consent or for requests sent without consent, an additional parameter is used in requests to Google Ads and Google Analytics.

One can specifically search for it in the browser's network tab to check whether Consent Mode is used and whether data has been collected with or without consent for analytics and advertising.

The gcs parameter is used for this purpose. If it appears in the requests, it takes a value according to the following format: G1xy.

Here, "x" represents consent to Google Ads cookies (ad_storage) and can be "0" (not consented, no cookie will be set) or "1" (consented).

In the same way, "y" concerns consent to Google Analytics cookies (analytics_storage) with the values "0" (not consented) or "1" (consented).

The possible values are therefore:

G100: request in a degraded mode (Advanced Consent Mode), no cookie
G110: Consent only to Google Ads cookies, but not to those of Google Analytics
G101: consent only to Google Analytics cookies, but not to those of Google Ads
G111 : consent to Google Ads (ad_storage = granted) and Google Analytics (analytics_storage = granted)

With Consent Mode v2: the gcd parameter as well

In addition to the gcs parameter, the entire set of consent signals (including the ad_user_data and ad_personalization introduced with Consent Mode v2) are transmitted with a new parameter: gcd.

Initially, the "D" meant "Default" and took the default consent value, before any user choice, and on the G1xy format as for the gcs parameter (for example: G101).

With Consent Mode v2, the gcd setting is sent with all requests (not just before the user's choice) and the format of its value changes to send all consent signals:

ad_storage
analytics_storage
ad_user_data
ad_personalization

The format is as follows:

xx{{ad_storage}}x{{analytics_storage}}x{{ad_user_data}}x{{ad_personalization}}x

The values of the {{consent signals}} can be as follows:

"p" : "denied" value by "default" (the user has not yet made a choice)
"t" : "granted" value by "default" (the user has not yet made a choice)
"q", "m" or "u" : value "denied" during an "update" (user's choice)
"e", "r", "n" or "v": "granted" value during an "update" (user's choice)
"l" : the signal was not defined (this is the case if GCM v2 is not in place)

For example, for the value "13q3n3q3q5":

ad_storage = "denied" during an "update" ("q")
analytics_storage = "granted" during an "update" ("n")
ad_user_data = "denied" during an "update" ("q")
ad_personalization = "denied" during an "update" ("q")

So EdgeAngel, what needs to be done?

You do not have a CMP (Consent Management Platform)

If you are using Google Ads or Google Analytics:

You need to set up a CMP to inform users and allow them to manage their consent.

If you don't use either Google Ads or Google Analytics:

If you consider that all other services (vendors) used on your site or application are functional, technical or that they are exempt from consent: you have nothing to do within the framework of Consent Mode v2.
Otherwise: you also need to set up a CMP.

You have a CMP in place without Consent Mode

If you are using Google Ads:

If you wish to continue using the audience features of Google Ads from March 2024, you must implement Consent Mode v2 (see following paragraph).

If you are not using Google Ads:

You don't have to do anything as part of Consent Mode v2.

You have a CMP in place with Consent Mode

If you are using Cookie Consent or a Google certified CMP (for example: Didomi) :

Get closer to your EdgeAngel interlocutor to update your CMP.

If you are using another CMP (for example: tarteaucitron):

You need to adjust your specific settings with Google Tag Manager to implement Google Consent Mode v2, or set up another GCM v2 compatible CMP.

What impact if you use Consent Mode v1 from March 6, 2024?

The ad_storage parameter is automatically mapped by Google to the new ad_user_data parameter for sites and applications that have implemented Consent Mode v1.
This means that with Consent Mode v1, when consent is given or refused for ad_storage, ad_user_data respects the same setting, thus ensuring that the performance measurement features of your original implementation continue to work as expected after March 6, 2024.
If ad_user_data is not set up, Google therefore uses the value of ad_storage by default. However, this only concerns the ad_user_data parameter and it is recommended to set up ad_personalization_data as soon as possible, which does not have this type of default operation.

In all cases, EdgeAngel can help you make the best choices in relation to your objectives and constraints (business/marketing, legal and technical), and to implement them. Call us 📞