Google Consent Mode v2 and Tag Manager

Google Consent Mode tells Google’s tags what the visitor has allowed. The plugin sets the signals; you do not need a separate template in Google Tag Manager.

Turn it on

Consent Mode v2 is on by default on the Integration tab. If Google Site Kit is active, it is always on.

The signals

Before any other script, the plugin prints the default state in the page <head>:

Signal	Before a choice	Granted when the visitor allows
analytics_storage	denied	Analytics
ad_storage	denied	Marketing
ad_user_data	denied	Marketing
ad_personalization	denied	Marketing
functionality_storage	denied	Preferences
personalization_storage	denied	Preferences
security_storage	granted	Always

When the visitor chooses, the plugin sends a consent update. For a returning visitor, the stored choice is restored in the head before any Google tag runs.

Basic or Advanced mode

	Basic (default)	Advanced
Google tag and GTM before a choice	Blocked	Loaded, with consent denied
What Google receives before a choice	Nothing	Cookieless pings, used to model missing data
Other trackers	Blocked until consent	Blocked until consent

Basic mode is the stricter choice. Advanced mode gives Google Analytics and Google Ads modelled data for visitors who do not consent, and Google may show your consent signals as “not active” in Basic mode. Choose with your own privacy policy in mind.

Google Tag Manager

In Basic mode, Google Tag Manager loads when the visitor allows analytics or marketing (since version 1.8.10). Inside the container each tag waits for its own category:

Visitor allows	GTM	Meta Pixel, LinkedIn and other non-Google tags	Google Ads	Google Analytics
Nothing	Waits	Wait	Waits	Waits
Analytics	Loads	Wait	Loads, ad storage denied	Loads
Marketing	Loads	Load	Loads	Waits
Everything	Loads	Load	Loads	Loads

Non-Google tags in Custom HTML tags (Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight, TikTok, Hotjar and so on) are held by the plugin’s guard until their category is allowed, even if they fire on All Pages with no consent settings. You do not need to change your container.

Adding GTM’s own consent settings is still good practice: in a tag, open Advanced Settings → Consent Settings → Require additional consent for tag to fire and add, for example, ad_storage for a marketing tag.

The dataLayer event

When the visitor makes a choice, the plugin pushes this event:

{
  event: 'consent_update',
  consent_necessary: true,
  consent_analytics: true,
  consent_marketing: false,
  consent_preferences: false
}

The event is pushed on the page where the choice is made. On later pages the choice is already in Consent Mode before GTM starts, so triggers based on the All Pages trigger plus consent settings work on every page.

The GTM Container ID field

The field on the Integration tab is for your notes only. The plugin does not add GTM to your site: install it with Google Site Kit, GTM4WP or your theme.

Google Site Kit

The plugin detects Site Kit. Site Kit sets denied defaults for its own regions (currently the EEA, the UK and Switzerland); the plugin adds a denied default for every other visitor and sends the updates when visitors choose. The two never send conflicting signals.

WP Consent API

If the WP Consent API plugin is active, the visitor’s choice is also shared with plugins that support it, through the wp_consent_functional, wp_consent_statistics, wp_consent_marketing and wp_consent_preferences cookies.

Check it in Tag Assistant

Open Google Tag Assistant (or GTM Preview) in a fresh browser session with no stored choice. You should see the consent default first, then a consent update when you click a button in the banner. If the update is missing, see Troubleshooting.