Implement consent mode with server-side Tag Manager

This document is for developers who already have a consent solution implemented on their website and want to use consent mode in a server-side environment.

Consent mode lets you communicate your users' cookie or app identifier consent status to Google. Tags adjust their behavior and respect users' choices. Consent mode does not provide a consent banner or widget. Rather, it interacts with your Consent Management Platform (CMP).

For an in-depth introduction to consent mode, read Consent mode on websites and mobile apps

To implement consent mode you need:

  • Administrator access to the Google product(s) you want to configure
  • A consent solution or cookie banner on your website that is compatible with Google's consent mode API or gtag.js
  • A Google Tag Manager web container and a server container.
  • A Google Analytics: GA4 client in the server container to receive consent data

How consent mode works with server-side tagging

The consent banner sends the consent choices to the Google tag. The Google tag transmits the data to the server.

  1. The consent banner on your website receives the user's consent choices and sends them to the Google tag.

  2. The Google tag sends the user's preferences to the server container by adding consent parameters to the HTTP request.

  3. Google product tags in the server are consent-aware and adjust the amount and kind of data they send based on the user's preferences.

Server containers support both the basic and advanced consent mode.

When you have implemented advanced consent mode in your web container and work with region-specific settings, set up your tagging server to support region-specific settings.

Set up consent mode →

Example

Your organization asks you to implement Google's consent mode API for Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads conversion tracking. You already have a cookie banner on the website, which you deployed by using a community template in the web container.

You need to make sure that your Google Ads and Google Analytics tags fire when the user accepts Ads (ad_storage) and Analytics (analytics_storage) cookies. When the user rejects Ads or Analytics cookies, the tags should always send cookie-less pings to their destinations.

To implement consent mode with server-side tagging, you need the following components:

Web container (client-side)

  • Cookie banner - Asks for consent to store cookies for Google Ads and Google Analytics. Updates consent status if user decides otherwise.
  • Google tag - Initializes the Google Analytics 4 library in the browser and sends data to the server container.

Server container (server-side)

  • Client: Google Analytics: GA4 client - to interpret incoming HTTP requests from the web container.
  • Tag: Conversion Linker - to measure conversions.
  • Tag: Google Ads Conversion Tracking - to send conversion data to Google Ads

How consent settings influence tag behavior

The following tabs explain how certain tags behave in the context of consent mode.

Google Analytics 4

Tag behavior

  • analytics_storage: granted - Google Analytics 4 works normally.
  • analytics_storage: denied
    • Consent mode (basic implementation): Google tags are fully blocked (i.e. don't load) as long as a user has not consented to Analytics cookies. No Analytics cookies are set, accessed, or read from the device, both on the client and server.
    • Consent mode (advanced implementation): Google tags load on every page regardless of consent state. Google tags adjust their behavior based on user cookie consent choices using consent mode commands. When a user denies ad_storage, a cookieless ping is sent to Google Analytics. Cookieless pings are anonymous and non-identifiable Google Analytics events. No Analytics cookies are set, accessed, or read from the device, both on the client and server.

Supported features

  • URL passthrough: Works if enabled in the client-side Google tag.
  • TCF v2.0 Integration: Works if enabled in the web container for the entire page. TCF strings are read to support ad personalization and Google Signals.

Google Ads Conversions

Prerequisite

In order for this tag to work, you need to install the Conversion Linker tag in the server container.

Tag behavior

  • ad_storage: granted - Google Ads Conversions tags work normally.
  • ad_storage: denied - Google Ads cookies aren't written or read. Instead, the browser sends a conversion pixel to a cookieless domain.

Supported features

  • URL Passthrough: Works if enabled in client-side Google tag.
  • Ads Data Redaction: Works if enabled in client-side Google tag.
  • TCF v2.0 Integration: Works if enabled in the web container for the entire page.
  • Enhanced Conversions: Works when consent is granted.

Google Ads Remarketing

Tag behavior

  • ad_storage: granted - Google Ads Remarketing tags work normally.
  • ad_storage: denied - Blocks HTTP requests and cookie use.

Supported features

  • URL passthrough: Not supported.
  • Ads Data Redaction: The tag doesn't send a request to store data when ad_storage is denied.
  • TCF v2.0 Integration: Works if enabled in the web container for the entire page.

Floodlight Counter/Sales

Prerequisite

In order for these tags to work, you need to install the Conversion Linker tag in the server container.

Tag behavior

  • ad_storage: granted - Floodlight tags work normally.
  • ad_storage: denied - Blocks HTTP requests and cookie use.

Supported features

  • URL Passthrough: Works if enabled in client-side Google tag.
  • Ads Data Redaction: The tag doesn't send a request to store data when ad_storage is denied.
  • TCF v2.0 Integration: Works if enabled in the web container for the entire page.

Next steps