The four Consent Mode v2 signals

Google Consent Mode v2 is how GA4 and Google Ads learn whether they may store ads cookies, use analytics storage, send user data for ads, and personalize ads. A banner that only writes a cookie, and never calls gtag('consent', …), fails this check even if it looks finished.

SiteTrust Consent fires these signals for you. You still have to load the widget early enough that Google sees default before gtag/js or a GTM container that contains Google tags.

• `analytics_storage`. Controls whether Google Analytics may store analytics cookies. SiteTrust maps this to the visitor's Analytics choice.
• `ad_storage`. Controls ads cookies. SiteTrust maps this to Marketing.
• `ad_user_data`. Controls whether user data may be sent to Google for advertising. SiteTrust maps this to Marketing.
• `ad_personalization`. Controls personalized ads. SiteTrust maps this to Marketing.

Accept All, when Analytics and Marketing are on, updates all four to granted. Decline keeps all four denied (or whatever the stored categories say if the visitor saved a custom mix).

• `wait_for_update: 500`. Tells Google tags to wait up to 500 ms for a consent update before they assume the default is final. This is required so Accept can still be honored on the first page view.
• `url_passthrough: true`. Helps Google keep measurement when ads cookies are denied, without turning ads storage on.
• `ads_data_redaction: true`. Asks Google to redact ads data while ads storage is denied.

The banner uses Necessary, Functional, Analytics, and Marketing. Necessary is always on and is not a Consent Mode signal. Functional is stored on the receipt. Consent Mode v2 cares about Analytics and Marketing:

• Analytics granted → analytics_storage: granted.
• Marketing granted → ad_storage, ad_user_data, and ad_personalization granted.
• Otherwise those signals stay denied.

Consent Mode tells Google what it may do. Basic mode also prevents known tracker scripts from running until the category is allowed. That is stricter than Consent Mode alone. Do not add a second CMP or a manual gtag('consent', 'update', { analytics_storage: 'granted' }) that fights the banner.