The latest articles on DEV Community by Immanuel Schranz (@immanuel_schranz_ad2ff88e). https://dev.to/immanuel_schranz_ad2ff88e https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4241194%2F17d6398c-6889-40e6-9fd3-370ac1fc8c63.png https://dev.to/immanuel_schranz_ad2ff88e en Immanuel Schranz Thu, 12 Nov 2026 13:41:18 +0000 https://dev.to/immanuel_schranz_ad2ff88e/how-to-check-if-google-consent-mode-v2-is-actually-working-gcs-and-gcd-explained-19o7 https://dev.to/immanuel_schranz_ad2ff88e/how-to-check-if-google-consent-mode-v2-is-actually-working-gcs-and-gcd-explained-19o7 <p>A cookie banner can show "Reject" and still tell Google's tags "granted".<br> The banner looks fine, the choice is saved, and nobody notices, because the<br> only place the truth shows up is two query parameters on every Google<br> measurement request: gcs and gcd.</p> <p>Here is how to read them in about two minutes.</p> <h2> 1. Catch a request before anyone clicks </h2> <p>Open the site in a private window, open DevTools (F12), go to the Network<br> tab, filter for "collect" and reload. Do not touch the banner.</p> <p>Every request to Google Analytics carries a gcs parameter:</p> <ul> <li>G100: ad and analytics storage denied</li> <li>G111: both granted</li> </ul> <p>Before the visitor has chosen anything, G111 should never appear. If it<br> does, the default in your consent setup says "granted".</p> <h2> 2. Read gcd for the v2 signals </h2> <p>gcd starts with 13, then one letter per signal, in this order:<br> ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data, ad_personalization.</p> <ul> <li>l: not set</li> <li>p: denied</li> <li>t: granted</li> </ul> <p>An l on the last two positions means the two signals added with v2 are<br> missing. Google has required them for users in the EEA since March 2024 if<br> you use Google Ads for measurement, audiences or remarketing.</p> <h2> 3. Click "Reject" and look again </h2> <p>Filter for "collect" again. gcs should stay G100, or in basic mode no<br> request is sent at all. No _ga cookie should appear.</p> <h2> The usual causes </h2> <ul> <li>The default in the banner's Tag Manager template is "granted", or the configured region does not include the visitor's country.</li> <li>A second copy of the Google tag sits in the theme, a plugin or a shop app. It never got the default and sends with no consent state at all.</li> <li>v2 is not switched on in the banner tool, or the Tag Manager template is outdated.</li> </ul> <p>Fix order: default to "denied" for all four signals before any other Google<br> tag, switch on v2 in the banner tool, load each Google tag once (ideally<br> through Tag Manager), then measure again after "Reject".</p> <p>Consent Mode only covers Google tags. Meta Pixel, TikTok and the rest have<br> to be held back by the banner tool itself.</p> <p>If you would rather not do this by hand on every page: I built a scanner<br> that loads the page in a fresh browser, reads gcs and gcd on every Google<br> request, clicks "Reject" and measures again. Free check here:<br> <a href="https://konformia.at/en/guides/google-consent-mode-v2?q=devto" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://konformia.at/en/guides/google-consent-mode-v2</a></p> webdev analytics privacy javascript