In March 2024, Google made Consent Mode v2 mandatory for anyone using Google Ads or Google Analytics who wants to continue using audience features, remarketing, and accurate conversion measurement in the EEA and UK. If you haven't implemented it yet, your ad performance data is likely incomplete.
What is Google Consent Mode?
Google Consent Mode is a way to tell Google's tags (Analytics, Ads, Floodlight) what the user has consented to. Rather than fully blocking Google's scripts when consent is declined, Consent Mode allows them to run in a "cookieless" mode — sending anonymised, non-personal signals to Google. This lets Google model and estimate conversions even when full tracking is not possible, without breaching GDPR.
What changed in v2?
The original Consent Mode had two signals: analytics_storage and ad_storage. Version 2 adds two more: ad_user_data (consent to send user data to Google for advertising purposes) and ad_personalization (consent to use data for personalised advertising). All four signals must be implemented correctly. Advertisers who don't implement v2 will see their remarketing audiences stop updating and conversion modelling degrade.
How does it work technically?
Consent Mode works by initialising Google's tags with all consent signals set to "denied" by default. When a user interacts with your cookie banner and grants consent, the signals are updated to "granted" — and Google's tags adjust their behaviour accordingly. This default-denied approach is what makes it GDPR-compliant: no personal data is collected before consent.
Do I need Consent Mode if I'm not running ads?
If you use Google Analytics 4, yes. GA4 uses consent signals to determine how to handle user data. Without Consent Mode, GA4 will still fire on users who declined consent, which is a compliance issue. With Consent Mode, GA4 fires in a limited mode that doesn't associate data with individual users.
How MyCookieKit implements Consent Mode v2
MyCookieKit automatically handles all four Consent Mode v2 signals. When a visitor interacts with your banner, we call gtag("consent", "update", {...}) with the appropriate signal values. You don't need to write any code yourself — just install the MyCookieKit script and it handles the integration natively.
Checking if your site is compliant
You can verify your Consent Mode implementation using Google's own Tag Assistant or by checking the browser console for gtag consent calls. If you're using MyCookieKit, Consent Mode v2 is active from day one with no additional configuration required.