Consent Mode v2: what a small business must have in place
If you advertise to UK visitors and use Google Ads measurement or remarketing, Google’s policy requires their consent. Consent Mode v2 passes each visitor’s choice to Google’s tags, for four settings. A cookie banner on its own does not pass the choice on.
Last updated 9 October 2026.
In short
- Google’s EU user consent policy requires consent from visitors in the UK, the EEA and Switzerland. Google requires verified consent signals for EEA traffic, and says it does not expect them for UK traffic.
- Version 2 sends 4 settings: ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization.
- Basic mode loads no Google tags until the visitor chooses; advanced loads them with consent denied and sends cookieless signals.
What does Consent Mode v2 send?
| Setting | What it covers |
|---|---|
| ad_storage | Cookies used for advertising |
| analytics_storage | Cookies used for analytics |
| ad_user_data | Sending visitor data to Google for advertising |
| ad_personalization | Personalised advertising, including remarketing |
The last two settings were added in version 2. A setup that sends only the first two is out of date. Google lists all four in its consent mode overview.
Basic or advanced: which is right?
| Basic | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Google tags before the visitor chooses | Do not load | Load, with consent set to denied |
| When the visitor declines | Nothing is sent to Google | Anonymous signals without cookies are sent |
| Conversions from visitors who decline | Not counted | Estimated by Google from the anonymous signals |
Advanced gives Google more to bid with. Basic sends less data. Which is right depends on your own privacy position; your privacy notice should describe the one you use.
What must be in place?
- A cookie banner that offers Reject as clearly as Accept.
- All four settings default to denied before any Google tag fires.
- The banner updates all four settings when the visitor chooses.
- A test in Google Tag Assistant shows the consent state changing on accept and on reject.
- The privacy notice explains what is collected and why.
The free tracking check shows whether your website sends Consent Mode signals.
Sources: Google, “Help with the EU user consent policy” (consent is required from users in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland; verified consent signals are expected for EEA traffic, not UK or Swiss traffic); Google Ads Help, “About consent mode” (cookieless pings and modelling); Google for Developers, “Consent mode overview” (the four consent settings, basic and advanced). Google Ads is a trademark of Google LLC; this page is independent of Google.
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