Your storefront ships with a branded cookie banner and full support for Google Consent Mode v2 — the framework Google requires for advertisers reaching the EU, and increasingly the expectation everywhere. You control how strict it is.
⚠️ Warning: Consent settings have legal consequences and vary by where your customers live. This article explains what each option does technically. It is not legal advice — if you’re unsure, ask your attorney.
How Consent Mode actually works
The intuitive assumption is that denying consent means Google’s tags don’t run. That isn’t how it works, and the difference matters.
With Consent Mode, Google’s tags always run — but they read the visitor’s consent state and change their own behavior:
- Consent granted → a full measurement with cookies, tied to a returning visitor
- Consent denied → a cookieless ping: no cookies, no identifiers, nothing that can follow a person around. Google uses these anonymous signals to statistically model the activity it can’t observe directly
So denying consent doesn’t blind you — it degrades gracefully from measured to modeled.
ℹ️ Note: This is why we never block Google’s tags at the container level. Blocking them removes the cookieless ping too, so you lose the modeling and gain no additional privacy — the tag was already respecting the visitor’s choice. Non-Google pixels like Meta and Reddit are different; see Meta & Reddit Pixels.
The three postures
Set under Marketing → Analytics.
| Setting | Analytics | Advertising | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denied all (default) | Denied until accepted | Denied until accepted | Strictest. Required for EU/UK visitors |
| Ads denied, analytics granted | Granted by default | Denied until accepted | Middle ground — measure traffic, no ad personalization until opted in |
| Granted all | Granted by default | Granted by default | US opt-out model — measure everyone, banner is the way to decline |
Denied all is the default because it’s the safest starting point. Everything is withheld until the visitor actively accepts.
⚠️ Warning: Under Denied all, only visitors who click Accept are fully measured. Everyone else is modeled. If most visitors ignore the banner — which is normal — your reported revenue and conversions will be a fraction of reality. That’s a legitimate trade, but make it deliberately.
Granted all is the conventional posture for a US-only store. Most US state privacy laws work on an opt-out basis for analytics, so measuring by default with a visible way to decline is generally accepted practice there. It is not appropriate if you have meaningful EU or UK traffic, where opt-in is required.
The banner
Show cookie banner controls whether it appears at all.
⚠️ Warning: Turning the banner off while advertising consent is denied by default creates a dead end — there’s no way for any visitor to ever grant it, so advertising measurement is permanently off. If you turn the banner off, use Granted all.
When enabled, visitors get Reject all, Customize, and Accept all. Customize exposes four categories:
| Category | Covers |
|---|---|
| Functional | Required for the site to work — always on, can’t be disabled |
| Analytics | Understanding usage and improving the site |
| Ads | Measuring advertising effectiveness |
| Personalization | Tailored content and recommendations |
📸 Screenshot placeholder: The cookie banner in its default state, and expanded into Customize.
Customize the wording with your own banner copy, and set a privacy policy URL to add a link. Leave the copy blank for sensible defaults.
💡 Tip: Set the privacy policy URL. Without it the banner renders with no link to your policy, which most privacy frameworks expect.
Changing their mind
A Cookie preferences link appears in your footer whenever the banner is enabled, letting visitors reopen and change their choice at any time. GDPR and CCPA both expect withdrawing consent to be as easy as giving it — this is that mechanism, and it appears automatically.
Choices are remembered for 13 months.
📸 Screenshot placeholder: The footer showing the Cookie preferences link.
Choosing
- EU or UK customers → Denied all, banner on. Opt-in is the legal requirement.
- US only, running ads → Granted all with the banner on as the opt-out is the common approach. Confirm with your attorney.
- US only, not advertising → Denied all or ads-denied is fine; you’re giving up little.
- Unsure → stay on the default and revisit. You can change it at any time, and it takes effect on the next page load.
ℹ️ Note: Consent changes apply immediately — no re-provisioning needed.