This translation has not been editorially reviewed yet. The German version is authoritative. Deutsche Fassung
Data protection
What is a consent signal and why does my tag manager need one?
A cookie banner asks the visitor — but who tells the services? Tag managers, analysis and advertising scripts must know the decision, otherwise they will continue to run regardless of the banner. There are two common signals for this: the Google Consent Mode, which sets the preset before the Google services are loaded and updates them after the click, and the TCF standard from the interest group IAB, which makes consent machine-readable for many advertising providers. The privacy check area reads whether one of these signals is present on the page.
What the test area reads
For Google Consent Mode, the checker pane searches for the call that sets the default — in the page's source code or as an entry in the data layer that the tag manager works across. For TCF, he checks whether the interface exists through which advertising providers request the consent status. Both are pure reading. the check area does not click anything and does not agree to anything. If there is a signal, it is given as information in the report. If it is missing, even though a tag manager or tracker is loaded, a result arises: The services cannot then know the decision of the visitor. The result does not change the point value; whether the services actually send data before consent is assessed by the rules on cookies and tracker connections.
Why the signal belongs to consent
Since 2024, Google has required Consent Mode v2 for advertising and measurement functions in Europe; without it, these services do not process consent and do not provide usable data. For operators, this means that a banner that only stores the decision but does not pass it on meets neither the legal requirement — the services run regardless of the refusal — nor the technical one. Most Consent tools offer connectivity; It only needs to be on and connected to the tag manager. The checking area makes visible whether this connection exists, and thus whether the banner is more than a display.
- In the Consent tool, activate the connection to Google Consent Mode v2 and, if you use advertising providers, to the TCF.
- Set the default Consent Mode before loading the tag manager — the order in the source code decides.
- After setup in the Tag Manager, check whether the tags respond to the consent status.
- Have the page checked again: The detected signal appears as information in the report.
