Consentl

Consentl with Google Tag Manager

A Google Tag Manager template, imported by hand, that sets Consent Mode v2 defaults per region and, on Pro and higher, forwards each choice to your Google tags.

Loader first in <head>
Depends on the method
Download
consentl-gtm-template-1.2.1.tpl · Version 1.2.1 · 41 KB · SHA-256

The Consentl template for Google Tag Manager (GTM) owns Google Consent Mode v2 for your site:

  1. It sets Google Consent Mode v2 defaults per region, before any other tag runs.
  2. It loads the Consentl banner (optional) and forwards the visitor's choices to Consent Mode: a returning visitor's choice as soon as the banner has run, then every change.

Consent Mode needs the Pro plan or higher. The template reads your plan and the dashboard's Google Consent Mode v2 switch from the banner: it forwards the visitor's choices only when your plan includes Consent Mode and the switch is on. On Free it still sets your defaults but never sends an update (see Plans).

Which setup to choose

Setup Holds back non-Google trackers (Business plan) Consent Mode (Pro plan)
Snippet first in <head>, no template (recommended, see Any website) Yes, from the start of the page Set by the banner
Snippet in <head> with &gcm=ext plus this template with "Load the banner" unticked Yes Set by the template; useful when GTM is your single source of tag configuration
This template only (sites where you can only add GTM) Only tags added after the banner loaded Set by the template

When the template loads the banner, GTM injects it asynchronously, so trackers hard-coded in the page HTML run, and are requested, before it. Tags managed inside GTM are fine: they wait for Consent Mode.

When the template loads the banner, it adds gcm=ext to the banner URL: the banner then sends no Consent Mode commands of its own and never holds back Google tags. If the snippet is in your page as well, add &gcm=ext to its URL yourself:

<script src="https://api.consentl.com/v1/loader.js?k=SITE_KEY&l=LANG&gcm=ext"></script>

Without it the page gets two sets of defaults, and the banner's Consent Mode settings from the dashboard apply as well.

Install

  1. Add the template to your container:
    • Community Template Gallery (once published): Templates → Tag Templates → Search Gallery → "Consentl" → Add to workspace.
    • Manual import (available now): download the template file from Downloads, then Templates → Tag Templates → New → ⋮ → Import → choose the .tpl file → Save.
  2. Create the tag: Tags → New → Tag configuration → Consentl Cookie Consent (Consent Mode v2).
    • Site key: from your site's Setup page in the Consentl dashboard.
    • Banner language: optional, for example {{Page Language}}.
    • Load the Consentl banner from this tag: untick it if the snippet is already in <head> (with &gcm=ext).
    • Consent Mode defaults: one row per group of regions, mirroring your region rules in the dashboard, including the rule for all other regions. Use ISO 3166 codes (US states are written US-CA). The shortcuts EU (the 27 member states), EEA (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and UK (the same as GB) work too. Example: EEA, GB, CH all denied, plus a row with an empty region for the rest of the world. With no rows, everything is denied everywhere, which is the safest choice.
  3. Triggering: Consent Initialization – All Pages. This is the only trigger that runs before every other tag.
  4. In Admin → Container settings, enable Consent overview, and make sure every tag has the right built-in consent checks or Additional consent settings (for example ad_storage for Meta, TikTok and other advertising pixels).
  5. Preview (Tag Assistant) → Consent tab: you should see defaults on Consent Initialization (once) and an update after accepting.
  6. Submit / Publish.

Events you can trigger tags on

Event When
consentl_consent On every page view once the visitor's region is known, and after every choice
consentl_update Only when the visitor makes or changes a choice

Both carry consentl.preferences, consentl.analytics, consentl.marketing, consentl.sale, consentl.stored (the visitor has decided) and consentl.region. To fire a tag once the visitor has agreed, use consentl_update, or consentl_consent with a condition on consentl.stored.

Plans

The banner tells the template whether your plan includes Consent Mode (Pro and higher) and whether the switch Regions → Google Consent Mode v2 → Send consent signals to Google tags is on. With gcm=ext the switch changes nothing else, so leave it on when you use this template.

Situation What the template does What Google tags in your container get
Pro and higher, switch on Defaults, then the visitor's choices The visitor's choice
Free (snippet first, or banner loaded by the template) Your defaults (with no rows: everything denied), never an update; Tag Assistant's console shows a hint Your defaults for good, also after the visitor accepts: where your rows deny, tags with consent checks do not fire, and Google tags in advanced mode only send cookieless pings
Pro and higher, switch off, snippet first Nothing; Tag Assistant's console shows a hint No consent state at all, unless you set Consent Mode defaults yourself: Google tags then run as if consent were granted, also in the EU, the UK and Switzerland
Pro and higher, switch off, banner loaded by the template Defaults at once (the switch is not known yet), then nothing Your defaults for good

On Free the defaults are deliberate: Google tags never run in an opt-in region without a consent state. To run tags after the visitor agrees on Free, fire them on the consentl_update or consentl_consent event with a condition on consentl.analytics or consentl.marketing, or upgrade to Pro.

With the switch off and the snippet first, the template respects your choice and sends no Consent Mode command at all. Google tags in your container then run without any consent state unless you set the defaults yourself (your own gtag('consent', 'default', …) before GTM, or another tool), and Google treats a missing state as granted. If you rely on this template for Consent Mode, leave the switch on.

While the plan information is being rolled out to every banner, a Pro site with the switch off can still be handled like Free (defaults, no updates).

Returning visitors and "Reset all consents"

The template does not read the consentl cookie itself. It takes the visitor's choice from the banner, which has already checked the consent revision ("Reset all consents" asks everyone again), the expiry, implied choices from notice or opt-out regions (they do not count in opt-in regions) and Global Privacy Control. Nothing is granted before the visitor's current choice is known. "Wait for update" (500 ms by default) makes Google tags wait for the banner.

Avoid double defaults

  • With the snippet in the page, add &gcm=ext to its URL.
  • Do not also add gtag('consent', 'default', …) to the page.
  • The banner applies your rule for the visitor's country, which Consentl looks up from the IP address (in memory, nothing stored); Google applies the template rows by its own geolocation. Make the rows match your rules: denied where a rule is opt-in, and the empty-region row like your rule for all other regions. The banner does not tell US states apart: every US visitor gets your rule for the whole US or, without one, your first US-state rule, so give the US one row (US) with the defaults of that rule.
Consentl Consent Mode
marketing ad_storage, ad_user_data
marketing + sale ad_personalization
analytics analytics_storage
preferences functionality_storage, personalization_storage
always security_storage = granted

Permissions shown in GTM

Permission Why
Accesses consent state Writes the consent types and wait_for_update
Injects scripts https://api.consentl.com/v1/* (the banner loader)
Accesses global variables Calls Consentl.on, Consentl.get, Consentl.region, Consentl.stored; reads Consentl.version, consentl.c.gcm.plan (your plan) and consentl.c.gcm.on (the Consent Mode switch)
Writes to the data layer ads_data_redaction, url_passthrough
Logs to console Debug mode only

Data the banner collects

The template itself sends no data. Consentl processes the following for you as the site owner:

  • On every page view, requests to api.consentl.com for the banner script, its interface (when shown) and the region lookup. Like any web request they carry the visitor's IP address and browser user agent.
  • With every choice, a consent record as proof of consent: a random consent ID (also kept in the consentl cookie), the action and choices, the region code when known, the language, the consent revision, the page path, your host name, the Global Privacy Control signal and, during an A/B test, the banner variant. Consentl adds the time, the shortened IP address (IPv4 /24, IPv6 /48) and the user agent.
  • When the banner is first shown, an anonymous view count.
  • Consent records are kept for 425 days (Free, Pro), 730 days (Business) or 1,825 days (Enterprise). See the privacy policy.

Limitations

  • When the banner is loaded by GTM, scripts hard-coded in the page run before it. Put the snippet first in <head> for strict prior blocking.
  • The Community Template Gallery listing is not published yet; use the manual import.
  • Consentl is not a Google-certified CMP for IAB TCF and does not implement TCF.

Stuck? Write to [email protected] — we answer in English on business days.