Troubleshooting Google Consent Mode

This article aims to solve common errors that may arise during your website’s Google Consent Mode integration process. It is for users implementing Google Consent Mode on their website. For instructions on setting up GCM, refer to the article Implementing Google Consent Mode v2.

Before diving into specific errors, check if your Google Consent Mode is configured correctly:

1. From the dashboard, go to Cookie Consent > Google consent mode.
2. In the General section, click on Enable debug mode. Enabling this option will log user consent states in the browser console for troubleshooting.

3. Now, go to the front end of your site and check the console message. The default and updated status of the GCM parameters are displayed, and the success message “Consent mode status were set correctly” appears.

If you encounter any error after running this check, select from the following common errors to see troubleshooting instructions:

The consent tab appears empty if Google Consent Mode is not implemented on your website or if no consent data is collected.

1. Ensure Google Consent Mode (GCM) is enabled under the Google Consent mode tab.
2. Unblock Google tags by setting Google tag behavior to Advanced. This allows the GTM script on your website to run before consent and allows the tags to fire based on the trigger setting in your GTM container.

The Necessary category (security_storage) is Allowed by default, and all other categories are denied. To change the default consent status, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Click on the Add new button.
2. Select a region under Region.
3. Establish the default consent settings for each parameter based on your preferences (allowed/denied). Consider the relevant laws in your region; seeking advice from a legal expert is highly recommended.

This error occurs when other tags are read/fired before the default consent is set. Tag Assistant reports the following error:

1. Ensure that the trigger, Consent Initialization – All pages is not set for any other tags.
2. Verify that all directly loaded tags are fired only after GTM is completely loaded. To verify, 
   a. Open Tag Assistant debug console.
   b. In the Summary, select the Tags tab.
   c. Click a tag to check if it fired according to the consent settings.