Two modes, one decision
Consent Mode isn't one setting. Google's Consent mode overview documents two ways to implement it, basic and advanced, and they behave very differently when a visitor says no.
So the real choice isn't "Consent Mode on or off." It's a tradeoff between measurement quality and what leaves the browser before the visitor has answered.
Basic: nothing until the visitor answers
In Google's words, basic mode is where "you prevent Google tags from loading until a user interacts with a consent banner." The setup "transmits no data to Google prior to user interaction with the consent banner."
If the visitor refuses, "no data is transferred to Google at all", and Google adds that this includes the consent status itself. Conversion modeling in Google Ads "is then based on a general model."
Advanced: tags load first, with consent denied
In advanced mode, Google tags load when the page opens. Consent defaults to denied unless you set your own defaults, and "While consent is denied, the Google tags send measurements without cookies." Full measurement starts only when the visitor grants consent.
Google says this "enables improved modeling compared to the Basic one as it provides an advertiser-specific model as opposed to a general model."
Side by side
| Basic | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Tag loading | Blocked until the visitor interacts with the banner | Loads on page open, consent defaulted to denied |
| Before an answer, or after a refusal | Nothing sent to Google | Consent state and measurements without cookies |
| After consent is granted | Tags load and send full measurement | Cookies written, full measurement sent |
| Conversion modeling | General model | Advertiser-specific model |
Summarized from Google's own comparison table. We haven't added any behavior the page doesn't state, and we don't quote uplift figures for either mode.
The tradeoff, and who owns each half
Marketing usually picks advanced mode for the better model. That's a real benefit, and it's marketing's question to weigh.
The other half is different. Advanced mode sends something to Google before the visitor has answered, and after a refusal. Whether that's acceptable for your business is a question for your counsel, not your tag manager. Make sure both people have actually been asked.
Rawsoft provides technical implementation and analysis, not legal advice. Please confirm any regulatory interpretation with your counsel.
How to tell which one your site runs
- Open a private browser window with developer tools on the Network tab, filtered to Google domains.
- Load your site and don't touch the banner.
- If no Google requests go out before you answer, the site is running basic mode, or no Google tags at all.
- If Google requests do go out before you answer, the tags are loading ahead of consent. That's advanced mode, or no consent gating at all.
To tell those last two apart, look inside the requests. Google's page says the consent choice for advertising and analytics storage is carried in a parameter called gcs. A related parameter, gcd, "is always sent to Google services, regardless of whether consent mode is activated or not", so finding gcd on its own proves nothing. Tag Assistant decodes both if you'd rather not read them by hand.
Where most sites actually are
In our privacy index, only 4.4% of scored sites (2,104 of 47,420) had a working Consent Mode v2 signal observed at all. Another 49.1% (23,301) ran Google tags with no Consent Mode signal detected. The index doesn't split basic from advanced, so we can't tell you which mode the 2,104 chose.
What the numbers do show is that most sites haven't made either choice. Your Consent Banner Made A Decision. Did Anything Transmit It? covers that gap.
Pick the mode on purpose
Whichever mode you run, write down who chose it and why, and who signed off on the data it sends before an answer. Then check your non-Google tags too: Consent Mode Only Talks to Google explains why they need their own review.
The free privacy scan shows whether your site sends a Consent Mode signal at all.
Source: Rawsoft Website Privacy Index, 47,506 sites scanned and 47,420 scored, January to October 2026. The crawl covers restaurant, hospitality and independent ecommerce sites, so it is not a sample of the whole web.
Part of the guide: Consent Mode v2: Setup, Testing and Common Failures