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Google Ads is Google's online advertising platform enabling businesses to show ads in Google Search, YouTube, and the Google Display Network. Conversion tracking (measuring which ads lead to purchases or leads) and remarketing (showing ads to previous visitors) both use JavaScript tags and cookies that require consent under the ePrivacy Directive. Google Consent Mode v2 became mandatory in March 2024 for EU advertisers using Google's measurement and advertising features. Without proper consent implementation, Google Ads data accuracy and remarketing capabilities are significantly restricted.
Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords) is Google''s online advertising platform that enables businesses to show paid advertisements in Google Search results, YouTube videos, Gmail, and across the Google Display Network (millions of websites and apps). Advertisers pay per click (PPC) or per impression. Google Ads uses conversion tracking (measuring which ads lead to purchases or leads) and audience features (remarketing to past visitors, Customer Match for uploading hashed email lists, Similar Audiences) that all involve personal data processing.
From March 2024, Google made Consent Mode v2 mandatory for EU/EEA advertisers using Google''s measurement and advertising features. Without implementing Consent Mode v2, advertisers lose access to: remarketing audiences, conversion modelling, Performance Max campaigns reaching new users, and accurate cross-device attribution. Consent Mode v2 adds two new consent parameters (ad_user_data and ad_personalization) in addition to the original analytics_storage and ad_storage parameters.
Google Ads remarketing tags set cookies to add website visitors to remarketing audiences. This requires advertising consent before the remarketing tag fires. Customer Match (uploading hashed customer email lists) processes personal data that requires disclosure in your privacy policy and a lawful basis. Enhanced Conversions (sending hashed first-party data for conversion matching) similarly requires consent for the underlying data collection.
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Implement a CMP and block Google Ads tags until advertising consent. Implement Consent Mode v2 with all four parameters. Sign the Google Ads Data Processing Terms. Disclose conversion tracking and remarketing in your privacy policy. For Customer Match, ensure uploading only data of contacts who have consented to marketing. Configure Enhanced Conversions only with appropriate consent.
Websites using Google Ads must obtain user consent under GDPR regulations.
DPIA considerations
A DPIA is recommended for large-scale Google Ads deployments using remarketing audience lists, customer match (uploading hashed emails), and enhanced conversions. These features process individual-level data for advertising targeting purposes.
Sample consent text
We use Google Ads conversion tracking to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. This uses cookies and transfers data to Google in the US. We also use Google remarketing to show relevant ads to previous visitors. You can manage advertising cookie preferences below.
Third-party domains contacted
googleadservices.comgooglesyndication.comgoogletagmanager.comCookies placed
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| _gcl_au | persistent | 3 months | Google Ads conversion measurement identifier linking ad clicks to on-site conversion events |
| _gcl_aw | persistent | 3 months | Google Ads click tracking cookie storing the Google Click ID for cross-session conversion attribution |
Google Ads places tracking cookies for advertising — comply with GDPR using FlowConsent.
Yes. Google Ads conversion tracking tags set cookies for measuring which ad clicks lead to conversions. These require advertising consent under the ePrivacy Directive before firing. Implement Google Consent Mode v2 to manage consent signals for Google Ads.
Consent Mode v2 is mandatory for EU/EEA advertisers since March 2024 to use Google's full advertising and measurement features. Without it, advertisers lose remarketing audiences, conversion modelling, and cross-device attribution. It adds ad_user_data and ad_personalization parameters allowing granular consent management.
Yes. Remarketing cookies that track visitors for later ad targeting require advertising consent under the ePrivacy Directive. The remarketing tag must not fire until advertising consent is given. Without consent, the visitor is not added to remarketing lists.
Google Ads sets _gcl_au (conversion measurement, 3 months), _gcl_aw (ad click tracking), and _gads (Google Ads session, 13 months). These require advertising consent before firing.
Customer Match involves uploading hashed customer email lists to Google for matching against Google account holders. The customers whose data is uploaded must have consented to this use. Uploading data without consent violates GDPR. Disclose Customer Match use in your privacy policy.
Enhanced Conversions send hashed first-party data (email, phone, name, address) from your website to Google to improve conversion measurement accuracy. The underlying personal data collection from your website requires consent. Implement Enhanced Conversions only after analytics/advertising consent is obtained.
Yes. Accept the Google Ads Data Processing Terms in your Google Ads account (Account Settings, Data Processing Terms). These are required for GDPR compliance when using Google Ads for EU users.
When users decline consent, Consent Mode v2 allows Google Ads tags to fire in a privacy-preserving mode: they send aggregated, cookieless pings without setting tracking cookies. Google then uses modelled data to estimate conversions and attribution. Performance metrics will be less accurate but some insight is preserved.