GTM Ultimate Stack
Check consent settings on every GA4 and ads tag
Use the consent standards to find the tags that don't declare the consent types they need, container by container, before a client's privacy review does.
Three consent standards
Three built-in standards cover consent, all on from the start and all at error severity:
- Consent Initialization trigger exists: every container has at least one Consent Initialization trigger, so consent defaults can be set before other tags fire.
- GA4 tags declare analytics consent: every GA4 configuration, GA4 event and Google tag declares analytics_storage in its consent settings.
- Ads / Floodlight tags declare ad consent: every Google Ads conversion, Google Ads call conversion, Conversion Linker and Floodlight tag declares ad_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization.
A checklist of the three consent standards and the tag types each checks, with a note that consent banner behaviour isn't checked.
Read the result across brands
Run the audit with the consent standards on and open each container. A finding names the tag and lists what's missing and what it does declare: consent not declared: analytics_storage (declares: ad_storage). A container with no ads tags shows the ads standard as n/a, not as a pass.
A grid of five containers against the three consent standards, with findings in two containers and n/a where a container has no ads tags.
What these standards check, and what they don't
They check what each tag declares in its GTM consent settings. They don't load your site, and they don't test how your consent platform behaves, whether the banner appears, or whether a tag fires before consent in practice. For that, test the page itself. The consent standards make sure the configuration is there to work with.
Extend them to other tags
Pixel and vendor tags aren't in the built-in list. Write a custom standard with Declares these consent types, applied to the tag types or names your vendors use, such as Custom HTML or Custom Image tags named like pixel. See Write your own standard.
A custom standard form applying a consent check to Custom HTML and Custom Image tags named like pixel.
Fix and re-check
Consent settings are edited on the tag in GTM. Fix them in each container, publish, and run the audit again to see the findings clear. See Turn findings into fixes.
Questions about consent standards
Does a pass mean a container is compliant?
No. It means each checked tag declares the consent types the standard requires. Compliance depends on your consent platform, your site and your legal advice.
Why is the ads consent standard n/a?
That container has no tags of the types it checks.
Can I require different consent types?
Yes. Edit the standard's consent types, or write your own for other tags.
ODDVX for Windows
One standard, every container.
Start free on one GTM account with every built-in standard. Premium adds several accounts in one run, any number of custom standards, exports and scheduled audits.