What Is Consent Mode V2? Advanced vs Basic, Testing and What It Does to Your Data

Consent mode V2 is the Google setting that tells your Google tags what each visitor agreed to on your cookie banner. The tags then change what they collect: full measurement for visitors who accept, limited or no data for visitors who decline.

This guide covers what it is, why Google requires it and the two versions. It ends with how to test it and what it does to your numbers. If you would rather have it set up and verified, our consent mode implementation service does that work.

What consent mode is

Consent mode lets websites control how Google tags behave based on each visitor’s consent choice. Google describes it as a way to adjust tags to users’ choices about data storage and use (Google for Developers).

Consent mode does not show a banner. It takes the visitor’s choice from your banner or consent platform. Then it adapts Google Analytics, Google Ads and other tags that use cookies (Google Ads Help).

Google’s own tags have consent checks built in. They include Google Analytics, and Google Ads conversion tracking and remarketing (same source as the first link).

The four signals in V2 consent mode

Version 2 of consent mode sends four consent signals: two for storage and two for advertising use of personal data. Google says consent mode users need to send ad_user_data and ad_personalization in addition to ad_storage and analytics_storage (Google for Developers).

Signal	What it controls	Added in V2
ad_storage	Storage such as cookies related to advertising	No
analytics_storage	Storage related to analytics, such as visit duration	No
ad_user_data	Sending user data related to advertising to Google	Yes
ad_personalization	Personalized advertising, such as remarketing	Yes

Each signal is granted or denied separately. Google notes that when the two advertising signals conflict, personalization is disabled (Tag Manager Help).

Why Google requires it for EEA traffic

Google requires consent signals for visitors from the European Economic Area to keep its measurement and advertising features. It says it is strengthening the enforcement of its EU user consent policy (Tag Manager Help).

Google’s requirement, as stated on that page (checked 15 October 2026):

• Collect consent for the use of personal data from end users based in the EEA.
• Share the consent signals with Google to keep using its tags for measurement, ad personalization and remarketing.
• The same applies when you use Google Analytics data in Google Ads, Search Ads 360 or Display & Video 360.

Google also lists who needs to act. Sites already on consent mode that do not run personalized advertising, such as remarketing, need no further action. Sites with a banner but no consent mode should implement it to keep the full range of advertising features (same source).

Advanced vs basic consent mode

Basic consent mode blocks Google tags until the visitor interacts with the banner; advanced loads them straight away with consent denied. Everything else follows from that difference (Google for Developers).

	Basic consent mode	Advanced consent mode
Tag loading	Blocked until the visitor uses the banner	Loads at once, defaults set to denied unless configured otherwise
Data before a choice	None, not even the default consent status	Consent state and cookieless pings
If the visitor declines	Nothing is sent; tags stay blocked	Cookieless pings continue; no cookies are written
If the visitor accepts	Tags load and send full measurement	Cookies are written and all measurement data is sent
Conversion modeling	General model (less detailed)	Advertiser-specific model (more detailed)

Basic sends nothing to Google until a visitor accepts. If they decline, Google says no data is transferred at all, not even the consent status. Conversions from those visitors are then modeled from a general model, not your own data (same source).

Advanced sends cookieless pings while consent is denied. Google lists what they carry: functional information such as browser headers, and aggregate, non-identifying information. It says advanced provides an advertiser-specific model, which improves modeling (same source).

Google adds a warning about the basic approach. If tags stay blocked until the visitor uses the banner, Google cannot verify consent choices. That may lead to data loss (Tag Manager Help). Choose advanced only after your legal team has agreed that cookieless pings are acceptable in your markets.

How to set the default and update consent

Both versions start with a default consent state, set before any tag sends data. Google’s guide says to call the default command on every page before any config or event command (Google for Developers):

// On every page, before any gtag config or event command.
gtag('consent', 'default', {
  'ad_storage': 'denied',
  'ad_user_data': 'denied',
  'ad_personalization': 'denied',
  'analytics_storage': 'denied',
  'wait_for_update': 500   // give an asynchronous banner 500 ms to update consent
});

// When the visitor accepts, your banner or consent platform updates the states.
gtag('consent', 'update', {
  'ad_storage': 'granted',
  'ad_user_data': 'granted',
  'ad_personalization': 'granted',
  'analytics_storage': 'granted'
});

Google adds wait_for_update for banners that load asynchronously, so the tags wait a set number of milliseconds for the update (same source). In Google Tag Manager, a consent mode template handles the update when the visitor uses the banner.

The setup faults we find in audits

The most common consent fault is not the choice between basic and advanced. It is a consent state that is wrong without anyone noticing.

Fault	What you see	Check
Consent resets on each page	Tags blocked after the first page, even for visitors who accepted	Accept, move to a second page, read the states
No banner or no consent mode	Tags fire before any choice, or consent signals never reach Google	Load the site fresh and look for the banner and the default call
Default set after the tags	Some hits leave before the default applies	The default call sits above every config or event call
Banner never sends the update	States stay denied after the visitor accepts	Accept, then read the states in Tag Assistant

At Toolab, the consent state reset to denied on every page after the first. GA4 ecommerce tags were blocked for the whole journey, even for visitors who had accepted. Google says consent mode preserves a visitor’s state across the pages they visit (Google Ads Help). A reset is a fault in the setup, not in consent mode.

At Vegepod, our review detected no cookie consent banner and no consent mode at all.

How to test consent mode on your site

A consent setup works when the states change at the right moment and stay changed. Test it in Tag Assistant on two pages, not one.

1. Open your site in Tag Assistant without touching the banner, and read the consent states. They should match your defaults.
2. Accept the banner, then move to a second page. The states should still read granted.
3. Decline in a fresh session. With basic, Google tags should not fire; with advanced, they should fire with consent denied.
4. Place a test conversion after accepting, and confirm it reaches GA4 and Google Ads.

Google Ads shows the result too. Once consent mode is implemented, Google says its status appears in the conversion diagnostics tab (Tag Manager Help).

What consent does to your conversion numbers

Declined consent lowers the conversions your platforms observe, whichever version you choose. Modeling estimates some of them; nothing recovers them as observed data.

Orbital Clothing showed the effect on Meta. About 27% of its 1,240 June orders never reached Meta’s server feed, because Shopify stops sending when a shopper declines. A compliant server setup would have stopped them too.

So compare platform conversions with your own orders before blaming the tracking. Our guide to why GA4 and Google Ads conversions don’t match covers the other causes. Our conversion tracking audit checklist includes the consent test.

If you want it built and checked on your site, see what our consent mode service includes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Google consent mode mandatory?

Google consent mode, with its version 2 signals, is required for EEA traffic. Without it you lose Google’s measurement, remarketing and ad personalization there. Google says you must collect consent from EEA users and share the consent signals with Google. Outside the EEA, your local privacy law decides what consent you need. Take legal advice for your markets.

What does consent mode do in Google Tag Manager?

In Google Tag Manager, consent mode decides which tags run and how, based on the visitor’s consent. Google’s own tags, such as Google Analytics and Google Ads, check consent themselves. Other tags can be given consent checks in their Advanced settings. A consent mode template updates the states when the visitor uses the banner.

Sources (5)

All checked on 15 October 2026.

1. Google for Developers, Consent mode overview
2. Google for Developers, Set up consent mode on websites
3. Google Ads Help, About consent mode
4. Tag Manager Help, Updates to consent mode for traffic in European Economic Area (EEA)
5. BlazeByte client audit reports, named with permission: Toolab (May 2026), Vegepod (June 2026) and Orbital Clothing (1 July 2026).