How does Google Consent Mode work?

Google Consent Mode connects visitors’ consent choices with the behavior of Google Analytics and advertising tags:

1. Set initial consent states. Your consent setup defines default values before measurement begins and applies saved preferences when available.

2. Collect a consent choice. The visitor accepts, rejects, or customizes permissions through the website’s consent banner or consent management platform.

3. Update consent signals. The implementation communicates granted or denied values for the relevant consent purposes.

4. Adjust tag behavior. Google tags adapt their behavior based on those signals, including cookie storage, advertising data use, and ad personalization.

The difference between Basic and Advanced Consent Mode determines what happens before permission is granted: Basic blocks Google tags, while Advanced can send cookieless pings when storage consent is denied, which can support eligible modeling.

When visitors revise their preferences, the consent signals must update accordingly. Other tracking tools require their own consent controls; Google Consent Mode does not automatically manage every third-party script. Google’s technical overview of consent behavior explains these mechanisms.