‘Google Consent Mode V2’ integration — a new requirement for advertising specialists

In today’s digital world, protecting user data is more important than ever. To ensure complete transparency, Google introduced a new update — ‘Consent Mode V2,’ which came into effect on March 1, 2024 — enabling the collection and processing of users’ personal information.

Depending on whether or not consent is given for cookie use, ‘Consent Mode V2’ works by adjusting tag behavior on the website. If a user does not agree to the use of analytical or advertising cookies, Google tags automatically switch to collecting a limited amount of data, ensuring privacy is respected. This method makes it possible to keep getting valuable insights into website traffic and user behavior, even if users decline most tracking cookies. Another option is to respect the user’s choice even more and fully disable data collection.

• Legal regulation. The new consent mode setting isn’t a choice — it’s a requirement. It simplifies the process of getting and managing user consent, ensuring compliance with the law without losing website functionality.
• User privacy. By giving users the opportunity to manage which data they want to share themselves, the new feature lets them make informed decisions and helps drive trust — it shows a commitment to ethical data practices.
• Marketing performance. Personalized features delivered based on user preferences increase the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and the number of conversions.

It’s worth noting that Google has supplemented its existing ad_storage and analytics_storage tags with 2 new ones:

• ad_user_data — does the user agree that their personal data may be used for advertising purposes?
• ad_personalization — does the user agree that their personal data may be used for advertising personalization purposes (retargeting advertising)?

To keep using Google Ads tool features (for example, retargeting, auto-bidding), you have to install ‘Consent Mode V2.’ Otherwise no information about new EU users visiting your site will be collected and used in the Google Ads and GA4 platforms. This will significantly hurt advertising performance, strategy execution, and conversions.