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Basic vs. Advanced Consent Mode v2 in CookieYes

Last updated on August 13, 2024

Google offers two primary consent modes to aid websites in adhering to data privacy regulations: Basic Consent Mode and Advanced Consent Mode. CookieYes seamlessly supports both, providing websites with the tools necessary to implement Google’s consent management solutions effectively. This document outlines the key differences between the Basic and Advanced Consent Mode v2, detailing their features, implementation and use cases.

What is Basic Consent Mode?

Basic Consent Mode offers a simplified consent management solution for website owners, requiring minimal customization for Google Tags. It automatically blocks Google Tags until users grant consent via a consent banner.

Scenario 1: User first visits (before consent decision) 

When a user initially lands on the page in Basic Consent Mode, before they’ve made any consent decision:

  • Google Tags are completely blocked from loading.
  • No data is transmitted to Google and no cookies are set for any categories.
  • No pings, cookieless or otherwise, are sent.
  • The consent banner appears, asking for the user’s privacy preferences.

The site waits for user interaction with the consent banner before taking any further action related to Google tags.

Scenario 2: User grants consent

When a user provides consent, Consent Mode immediately signals this approval to the tags. This action triggers the unblocking and activation of the tags, effectively restoring their normal functionality. As a result, the website can continue collecting and processing data as per the user’s consent.

Scenario 3: User rejects consent

CookieYes implements the blocking measures when a user declines to consent. 

  • analytics_storage: Stops collecting analytics data.
  • ad_storage, ad_user_data, and ad_personalization: Stops collecting ad-related data.

In short, if a user doesn’t give consent, no data is collected at all, including their consent status.

Benefits of Basic Consent Mode

Key features of Basic Consent Mode include:

  1. Simple implementation: Requires less customization of Google Tags functionality, making the setup process easier.
  2. Easy Maintenance: Requires minimal ongoing management. Updates and changes to consent requirements are often handled automatically through Google’s updates.
  3. Streamlined Google tag management: Automatically adjusts the behaviour of Google tags based on user consent, ensuring that non-essential Google services (like analytics and advertising) are disabled when consent is not given while allowing essential functionalities to continue.
  4. Compatibility with Most Websites: Easily integrates with a wide range of website structures and content management systems without requiring significant changes to existing website architecture.

Drawbacks of Basic Consent Mode

Compared to the Advanced Consent Mode, the Basic Consent Mode has several disadvantages:

  1. Limited customization: Offers a streamlined consent interface with standard options for users to manage their cookie preferences. While compliant with regulations, it provides fewer customization options compared to Advanced Consent Mode, which may limit the ability to tailor the consent experience to specific business needs or complex user preference scenarios.
  2. Insufficient behavioural modelling: Blocks behavioural modelling in Google Analytics for unconsented users, leaving gaps in understanding user behaviour and hindering website optimization efforts.
  3. Standardized compliance approach: Basic Consent Mode possesses a simplified structure, which may require additional considerations for businesses operating under complex or rapidly evolving regional data protection laws. Limited customization options may impede the effective meeting of future regulatory requirements.
  4. Reduced analytics insights: Limits data collection when users reject cookies, impacting the accuracy and depth of analytics insights. Conversion modelling in Google Ads and Google Analytics relies on basic modelling techniques, potentially reducing precision.

How to Implement Basic Google Consent Mode?

To ensure compliance with data privacy regulations, it’s essential to implement a compliant consent banner on your website. This can be achieved through a Consent Management Platform (CMP). CookieYes, being a CMP certified by Google, is an excellent choice for ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations.

Setup Guide

For implementation steps, follow the Basic Consent Mode setup guide.

What is Advanced Consent Mode?

Advanced Consent Mode offers a more refined approach to consent management, requiring additional customization of Google Tags functionality.  It’s suitable for complex digital environments, especially beneficial for large enterprises with multiple domain consent needs. 

While Advanced Consent Mode is an optional feature, it allows granular control over tag and cookie behaviours based on different consent states. This flexibility helps meet specific regulatory requirements and user preferences. However, both Basic and Advanced modes remain relatively straightforward to implement.

Scenario 1: User First Visits (Before Consent Decision) 

When a user first visits the page:

  • Google Tags load with default consent states.
  • No cookies are set for analytics or ads.
  • Only necessary, cookieless pings are allowed.
  • The consent banner appears, asking for the user’s privacy preferences.

Scenario 2: User Grants Consent

When a user grants consent, the tags operate with their standard functionality. This allows for normal measurement and reporting of user conversions, providing valuable data for website owners and marketers.

Scenario 3: User Rejects Consent

When users decline to consent, the tags adjust their behaviour to respect their privacy preferences:

  • Analytics Storage: Do not use cookies for analytics.
  • Ad Storage: Do not use cookies for ads.
  • Data Transmission: Uses cookieless pings for essential data.
  • User Data for Ads: Stops sending user data to Google.
  • Ad Personalization: Disables personalized ads.

Benefits of Advanced Consent Mode

Key features of Advanced Consent Mode include:

  1. Flexible Data Collection: Website owners can load Google Analytics in various configurations based on user consent preferences, including full functionality, reduced functionality, or no functionality.
  2. Improved Modeling: Advanced Consent Mode enables conversion modelling in Google Analytics and Google Ads and behavioural modelling in Google Analytics.
  3. Enhanced User Experience: By giving users more control over their data privacy preferences, Advanced Consent Mode helps improve the overall user experience and fosters trust with website users.
  4. Cross-Domain Consent Management: Better suited for managing consent across multiple domains, supporting an integrated privacy strategy for large, diverse digital ecosystems

Drawbacks of Advanced Consent Mode

Compared to the Basic Consent Mode, the Advanced Consent Mode has several disadvantages:

  1. Higher technical requirements: Demands more extensive technical expertise and additional resources for implementation.
  2. Advanced knowledge prerequisites: Website owners must possess an in-depth understanding of Google Analytics.
  3. Potential for data inconsistencies: Configuring Google Analytics for various consent preferences can be complex and may lead to inconsistencies in data collection and reporting.
  4. Increased complexity: More intricate setup process compared to Basic Mode, which requires careful management to ensure accurate data handling across different consent scenarios.

How to Implement Advanced Google Consent Mode?

Implementing Google Consent Mode is crucial for websites aiming to balance user privacy with effective data collection. This advanced feature enables dynamic adjustment of Google tags based on user consent choices. The first step in implementing this feature involves deploying a compliant consent banner on your site, ideally through a CMP with Google-certified options like CookieYes, ensuring streamlined compliance with data privacy regulations.

Before implementing the Advanced Consent Mode, ensure the Basic Consent Mode is already implemented.

Setup Guide

For implementation steps, follow the Advanced Consent Mode setup guide.

Overview

FeatureBasic consent modeAdvanced consent mode
Tag loadingBlocked until user interaction.Loads with defaults denied unless configured.
Data transmissionNo data is sent before a user consents.Sends limited data if denied; full data if granted.
Consent statesSet after user interaction.Defaults to denied; updates based on user choice.
Tag behaviour after user interactionExecutes only if user consents.Executes only if the user consents.
Conversion modelingGeneral model (less detailed modelling).Advertiser-specific model (more detailed modelling).

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