Google is intensifying the enforcement of its EU user consent policy. If you’re running web and app campaigns in the European Economic Area, staying informed and compliant is crucial.

In a recently released video, Google Ads experts lay out a clear roadmap for collecting and passing back user consent. This is not just important—it’s mandatory for display and app campaigns with tag-based remarketing. To avoid any hiccups, make sure to complete these steps before March 2024.

Follow these key steps:

1. Set up a consent banner: Implement a consent banner on your website or app that meets local regulatory requirements and Google’s European Union user consent policy. You can use your own developer tools or a consent management platform (CMP).
2. Implement consent mode version 2: Upgrade to consent mode version 2 for your web campaigns. This allows you to adjust Google Tags Behavior based on the user’s interaction with the consent banner on your website.
3. Implement addcore personalization and addore user parameters: For advertisers not using a CMP, implement two new parameters available in the upgraded consent mode version 2 to preserve tag-based audience remarketing. These parameters collect consent to allow ads personalization to execute in-house.
4. Update Google Analytics for Firebase SDK: If you use Google Analytics for audiences or Firebase audiences, update to the newest version of the Google Analytics for Firebase SDK and upgrade to consent mode version 2.
5. Set default consent state for your app: By default, no consent mode values are set. You will need to set a default consent state for your app. It is also important to configure default consent settings to be region-specific rather than global.
6. Update consent values after app launch: To update consent values after an app has launched, call the consent API.
7. Update third-party app attribution partner SDK: If you use third-party app attribution partner-based audiences, update to the newest version of your partner SDK and work with your partner to pass back the relevant consent parameters. These updates will be available in Q1 2024.