Usercentrics - PUBLIC

Google Consent Mode (GCM)

Owned by Mohammed Rayyes, created
Last updated: Mar 25, 2024 by sascha.brian
6 min read

Main Google Consent Mode v2 topics:

Google released Consent Mode v2

Version 2 of Consent Mode introduces two additional bits (ad_user_data & ad_personalization) within the consent mode updates. Usercentrics supports these new bits in the update signals as a standard feature.
Please ensure that you are also incorporating updates to these two new bits within your default state implementation!
If you are using the implementation through our Google Tag Manager community template, please update to the newest version that supports Consent Mode v2.
For step-by-step implementation instructions, read our Google Consent Mode tech doc.

Overview of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How does Google Consent mode actually work?

With Consent Mode, Google has provided a solution for advertisers to adjust the behavior of Google tags on their website based on the user consent status.

By pairing the Consent Mode API with the Usercentrics Consent Management Platform (CMP) advertisers can indicate if the user has given consent for cookie usage related to ads and/or advertising. The supported Google tags will respect this signal and adjust their behavior accordingly only utilizing cookies if consent was granted for the specific purposes.

Consent Mode is an API that takes the consent status of your users into account when handling the behavior of Googleā€™s scripts and tags that are used by your website or platform.

Google Consent Mode regulates the behavior of the analytics cookies in relation to user consent. It will make Google Analytics adjust the collection of data based on the consent of each visitor.

When users donā€™t give consent for setting statistics cookies, your site still receives basic and non-identifying data.

It also regulates the behavior of marketing cookies on your website in relation to user consent. When a visitor does not consent to marketing or advertising cookies, Googleā€™s Consent Mode will adjust the handling of the Google tags that are related to marketing and will not use these cookies.

In this case, your site will still be able to display contextual advertising that is based on anonymous data. But itā€™s not possible anymore to show targeted advertising that is based on personal data if users donā€™t give their consent for setting marketing cookies.

Google Consent Mode enables your website to record and measure conversions on a more aggregate level, instead of the level of individual users. in this way you can stay GDPR compliant and still obtain insights in the performance of your online marketing efforts.

Google Ads Tutorials: Consent Mode

How do I integrate both GTM and GCM with Usercentrics?

Assuming that you already integrated GTM with Usercentrics on your page (if not, you can integrate it via a Template from the Template Gallery, or integrate it via code), the next step will be adapting your current setup to integrate GCM on it.

We suggest following the steps mentioned on our documentation of the GCM implementation with Usercentrics.

By toggling GCM, will it respect the signal and adjust its behavior accordingly or will GCM block GTM?

Ā 

Google Consent Mode requires that you use gtag.js or Google Tag Manager to work, so GCM will respect the signal and adjust its behavior as expected. These are the two events that may fire after you have everything implemented correctly (you can check them on the console via the command dataLayer):

  1. consent default - The event that fires the default values defined by you (normally false)

  2. consent update - The event that will fire once you change your consent

If these events fire correctly in the right time with the correct value based on your consent, then GCM and GTM are working together correctly with Usercentrics.

What is the default state of Google Consent Mode (GCM) and what action do I need to take?

The default state of Consent Mode sets the default behavior of Google tags on your website when a page is loaded. Depending on your Consent Mode implementation, you must manually set the default state in your websites code above the Google tag (gtag) or Google Tag Manager script.

Unless you are using our Google Tag Manager template (tech doc), the Usercentrics CMP implementation will not automatically insert the default state into your page. Since the Usercentrics CMP only updates the Consent Mode API after a user interaction, it's crucial to implement Consent Mode correctly from the start.

Further guidance:
For detailed instructions and best practices, please refer to our documentation as well as our implementation guide for GCM.

Do I need a Firing Trigger (with consent_status) when using Google Consent Mode?

  • If you are using the Google Consent Mode option in the Admin Interface and want to use Advanced Google Consent Mode, then you do not need to add an additional trigger to check the consent status for the services on the CMP Banner, which are supported by GCM.

  • If you add an additional trigger condition to check the consent status for a service (for example, following our documentation example - Google Analytics Service), then that service will only be fired when that consent is true for that service on the CMP Banner. So the corresponding tag in the GTM will not fire at a first visit and then GCM will not serve its full purpose. This is generally considered Basic Google Consent Mode.

If we are using Custom Services with Usercentrics and using Google Consent Mode correct implementation for them, do we need to toggle GCM on the Admin Interface?

When you are using custom services and Google Consent Mode with the window event implementation from step 2 of our documentation, you do not need to toggle Google Consent Mode on the Admin Interface. That is the option that does this automatically with the predefined services.

Why are cookies still loaded even when the consent is not submitted by users for the Google services on the CMP Banner?

Check if the Google Consent Mode feature is enabled for the CMP Configuration / Settings-ID. You should disable the Google Consent Mode feature in the Admin Interface. It will solve the problem and the cookies will not be set without the userā€™s consent for the services.

How do I check whether the cookies are set or not after disabling GCM for my Settings-ID?

  • Either check for the cookies information in the Chrome Incognito mode

  • or clear your local storage, session storage, and cookies in the browser before performing the test.

Why are cookies not set until the page reloads?

Check if GCM is implemented in your website correctly as per GCM implementation example or check if GCM is enabled in Admin Interface for your Settings-ID.

Why are cookies not removed even after I changed the consent for services?

Cookies that are already set in your browser, will not be deleted if you will click on the Deny option after you already accepted services the last time you visited the website. The Usercentrics CMP does not manage cookies.

Is it possible to use both TC String and Google Consent Mode at the same time?

It's possible, however, since the setup is a bit tricky we do not recommend it.

You can either:

  • Use the Google products via TCF:
    Add the services as TCF Vendors and follow the TCF adjustments

  • OR use the Google products with Google Consent Mode:
    Add the services as regular DPS and follow the Google Consent Mode instructions

Do you need further help?

How can I get help with technical questions?

Ā 

Usercentrics - PUBLIC