In February 2024, Google released an update to its consent mode for Europe, introducing additional parameters to ensure greater privacy and control over user data processing. Marketers have dubbed the update “Consent Mode 2.0,” although this specific phrasing is absent from Google’s original announcement. In this article, we’ll delve into how this impacts web analytics and what website owners should do in response to this update.

Impact of the Update

Consent Mode is a set of rules governing user privacy. Currently, these rules require website owners to conduct surveys among users and obtain their consent for data usage within analytics and marketing realms. Additionally, site owners must provide the option to opt out of data collection.

Example of a data collection banner with opt-out capability

Impact on Users

Essentially, a long-standing practice of users freely providing any information about themselves to a website in exchange for accessing content is disrupted. Now, Europeans can choose not to provide any data about themselves and still continue reading the article. Those who do not offer such options to users may face regulatory sanctions.

Consent Mode 2.0, along with the rules it is based on, extends to the European Economic Area, which Ukraine does not belong to at the time of writing this article. However, since many Ukrainian businesses operate for export or plan to enter the European market, it is advisable for all of us to understand this.

Impact on Marketers

User privacy protection ultimately means less data about potential remarketing audiences and advertising in general. Data from individuals who opt out of information collection should not be transmitted to Google Analytics or other systems. Accordingly, it is necessary to update the system to meet current requirements and keep abreast of developments regarding cookie opt-outs and transitions to new tracking methods.

Previously, we discussed the importance of user privacy auditing in the article “Website Privacy Audit.”

Technical Changes

Google Analytics now includes two mandatory parameters:

• ad_user_data —permission to transmit data related to Google advertising (ads, dv, etc.)
• ad_personalization — permission for personalized advertising

These new parameters must be considered in consent-gathering banners and event-processing tags. This should allow users to more accurately control which data they provide and how it is used for advertising purposes.

What to Do About It

If you have a website targeting countries in the European Economic Area (list), conduct a web analytics audit and adjust consent collection banners according to the new rules, with the “ad_user_data” and “ad_personalization” parameters.

If you use a Google-certified consent management platform, everything should update automatically. For guidance, refer to the help documentation or contact a web analytics specialist (e.g., newage.agency at info@newage.agency).