Google Consent Mode vs. Google Additional Consent

They may have similar names, but Google Consent Mode and Additional Consent are separate technical specifications.

If you serve ads to or monitor the online behavior of website users in the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), you’ll benefit from a consent management platform that allows you to implement both.

In this guide, I’ll explain the similarities and differences between Google Consent Mode and Additional Consent so you can determine if one or both specifications work for your website.

What Is Google Consent Mode?

Google Consent Mode (GCM) was released to better align the process of obtaining user consent for Google Services with EU and EEA privacy laws without compromising the integrity of the website’s data.

When GCM is enabled, it uses tags to communicate your users’ consent choices via a compatible consent banner.

• If they click agree, data is collected about them as described on your website.
• But if they decline, their data is not tracked, and GCM uses state-of-the-art data mapping to fill potential gaps that would otherwise occur in your data sets.

Websites serving ads to users in the European Union and/or the European Economic Area (EEA) must use GCM v2 by March 2024, or the following Google Services will no longer provide data for any new EU/EEA users:

• Google Analytics 4
• Google Ads

What Is Google’s Additional Consent?

Google released Additional Consent as a technical specification for use alongside the European International Advertising Bureau’s (IAB Europe) Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) v2.2.

When enabled, it allows vendors not registered with IAB Europe’s Global Vendor List but on Google’s Ad Tech Providers (ATP) list to receive consent signals from websites that implement the TCF v2.2.

It gives websites implementing the TCF v2.2 more access to vendors, ad publishers, and other service providers while honoring users’ consent preferences.

Differences Between Google Consent Mode and Additional Consent

There are a few notable differences between Google Consent Mode and Additional Consent.

For example, Google Consent Mode v2:

• Has a data mapping feature that fills in gaps in data when users decline consent for analytics and targeted ads.
• Helps Google comply with requirements outlined by the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
• Impacts Google Ads and Analytics 4.

Whereas Additional Consent:

• Is only relevant if your website implements IAB Europe’s TCF v2.2, a voluntary framework.
• Communicates consent signals to vendors that are part of Google’s Ad Tech Provider’s list but aren’t yet part of the TCF Global Vendor list.
• Impacts Google AdSense, AdMob, and Ad Manager.

Similarities Between Google Consent Mode and Google Additional Consent

Of course, GCM and Additional Consent share some similarities:

• Both help websites better align consent requests for targeted ads and analytics with EU data privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• Website owners can use a Google-certified CMP partner to implement both GCM and Additional Consent.
• Both use Google Tags (not internet cookies) to communicate user consent preferences with third-party service providers.
• Google requires websites that serve ads in the EU/EEA to use a CMP that implements both GCM and Additional Consent.

Who Must Use Google Consent Mode?

Any website that wants to continue to receive data about new EU/EEA users from Google Ads or Google Analytics 4 must implement Google Consent Mode v2 by March 2024.

The requirement is part of Google’s efforts to strengthen and reinforce its EU User Consent Policy, better aligning its protocols with EU data privacy and consumer protection laws.

Who Must Use Google Additional Consent?

Websites that want to continue to receive data about EU/EEA or UK users from the following Google Services must use a CMP that allows them to implement IAB Europe’s TCF v2.2 and access Additional Consent specifications:

• AdSense
• AdMob
• Ad Manager

The deadline for switching to a CMP that supports Additional Consent was January 16, 2024.

How Termly Supports Google Consent Mode and Additional Consent

Termly is a Google-certified CMP partner, and we’re certified with the IAB Europe’s TCF v2.2, so you can trust our consent solutions to implement Additional Consent.

Our CMP also fully supports Google Consent Mode v2.

Termly users will receive email updates and instructions to help simplify the setup for GCM v2 once it’s live.

Plus, our excellent customer support team is available to help if you have any questions.

Summary

The differences between Google Consent Mode and Additional Consent are essential to understand, especially if you use Google Services to target ads or collect analytics data from website users in the EU/EEA or the UK.

These Google updates represent their attempt to better align with privacy laws like the GDPR and the DMA,

Google requires websites using their ad and analytics services to monitor the behavior of people in the EU/EEA to use a CMP that integrates both technical specifications.

You can use Termly’s CMP to seamlessly integrate both Additional Consent and GCM on your website.

More about the author

Written by Masha Komnenic CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT, FIP

Masha is an Information Security and Data Privacy Specialist and a Certified Data Protection Officer. She has been a Data Protection Officer for the past six years, helping small and medium-sized enterprises achieve legal compliance. She has also been a privacy compliance mentor to many international business accelerators. She specializes in implementing, monitoring, and auditing business compliance with privacy regulations (HIPAA, PIPEDA, ePrivacy Directive, GDPR, CCPA, POPIA, LGPD). Masha studied Law at Belgrade University, and she passed the Bar examination in 2016. More about the author