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Google Consent Mode v2 setup

How Consentico wires Google Consent Mode v2 into your Shopify store automatically, and what to verify after install.

If you have Google Analytics 4 or Google Ads pixels installed via Shopify or Google Tag Manager, Consentico automatically configures Google Consent Mode v2 — no extra setup. This doc covers what happens under the hood and how to verify it's working.

For the longer "why" piece, read Google Consent Mode v2 for Shopify on the blog.

What Consentico does automatically

When the banner loads (before any other tracking script):

  1. Initialise the dataLayer. Adds the gtag stub if your store doesn't already have one.
  2. Set GCM v2 defaults to denied. Every signal except security_storage defaults to denied.
  3. Configure wait_for_update. Tells Google to wait up to 500ms for the visitor's decision before sending pings.
  4. Block tracking scripts. Three-layer blocking (createElement override, MutationObserver, type=text/plain) prevents GA4, Google Ads, GTM tags from firing until consent.
  5. Update GCM signals on consent. When the visitor decides, calls gtag('consent', 'update', { ... }) with the granted values.

You don't have to do anything. The default-deny + wait_for_update pattern is the one Google explicitly recommends for GDPR compliance.

Verifying it works

1. Tag Assistant (Chrome extension)

Install Google Tag Assistant Companion and visit your store in incognito.

Expected:

  • GA4 tag fires with Consent state: ad_storage=denied, analytics_storage=denied, ad_user_data=denied, ad_personalization=denied.
  • First pageview ping is in "cookieless" mode (gcs=G100).

After clicking Accept:

  • GA4 tag fires again with Consent state: ad_storage=granted, analytics_storage=granted, ad_user_data=granted, ad_personalization=granted.
  • Subsequent pings are in "full consent" mode (gcs=G111).

If you see gcs=G100 after Accept, GCM update isn't firing. Check that gtag is present in the global namespace and that no other script is overwriting it.

2. Google Ads diagnostics

Inside Google Ads → Tools & Settings → Conversions → Diagnostics, look for:

  • ✅ "Consent Mode active"
  • ✅ "Consent Mode signals: ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data, ad_personalization"
  • ✅ "Consent Mode v2 signals received"

If any are red, your GCM v2 setup has gaps. Most often: the conversion tag is firing before GCM is initialised. Move the conversion tag inside Google Tag Manager and let GTM handle the firing order.

3. DevTools Network tab

Open DevTools → Network → filter by google-analytics.com/g/collect (the GA4 endpoint).

Expected behaviour on first visit (consent denied):

  • One request fires with gcs=G100&gcd=12222&dma=0 parameters.
  • The request payload is minimal — no client ID, no specific event details.

After Accept:

  • New requests fire with gcs=G111 and a full client ID.

Edge cases

If you already have Google Tag Manager with your own consent triggers, disable Consentico's GCM injection in Settings → Integrations → Google Consent Mode → "Manage GCM elsewhere." This prevents double-firing of consent updates.

You'll still want Consentico to:

  • Block third-party scripts (yes — leave on; this is the script-load layer, not the consent-signal layer).
  • Provide the consent UI and audit log (yes — that's what merchants pay for).

"I'm using Shopify's pixel manager"

Shopify's pixel manager (introduced 2023) offers a consent integration via the Customer Privacy API. Consentico syncs to that API automatically — when a visitor consents to "Marketing," Shopify's pixel manager unlocks Meta Pixel, Klaviyo Web, etc.

You don't need to configure anything additional. Verify by:

  1. In incognito, visit your store.
  2. Decline cookies.
  3. Add a product to cart → checkout.
  4. Open DevTools → Network → check for Meta Pixel / Klaviyo requests. There should be none until consent is given.

"I'm using Hydrogen / headless"

Hydrogen storefronts don't have a theme app extension, so the GCM setup runs via the @consentico/web package. Same defaults, same behaviour — just imported as a React component instead of a Liquid block.

import { ConsentBanner } from "@consentico/web";

// in your root component
<ConsentBanner shopDomain="your-store.myshopify.com" />

"Modeled conversions aren't showing in Google Ads"

Modeled conversions take 7–14 days to start arriving. They also require a minimum traffic volume (varies by country; ~700 ad clicks/week is the rough threshold). If you're seeing nothing after two weeks at sufficient volume:

  1. Confirm Tag Assistant shows GCM v2 active.
  2. Confirm Google Ads diagnostics shows "Consent Mode signals received."
  3. Check that Enhanced Conversions is also enabled (multiplies the modeling effect).

What if I don't have GA4 or Google Ads?

GCM injection still happens, but it's a no-op — without any Google tags listening, the consent signals don't reach anything. There's no harm in leaving it on; if you add Google tags later it'll just work.