On June 15, 2026, Google changed how advertising data is controlled across its ecosystem. If you're an advertiser running Google Ads with Google Analytics and you have OneTrust's Consent Management Platform (CMP) in place, here's a clear breakdown of what shifted, what it means for your configuration, and what (if anything) you need to do.
The update does not introduce a new consent framework. Instead, it changes which control determines whether advertising data reaches Google Ads. For organizations that already have Google Consent Mode v2 correctly implemented, this is primarily an operational validation exercise rather than a technical migration.
Key Takeaways
- Google Ads now relies solely on Consent Mode's ad_storage signal to determine whether advertising data is shared.
- Correctly configured OneTrust CMP customers do not need product changes following the June 15 update.
- Organizations should review consent defaults and purpose mappings to ensure they still reflect their intended privacy posture.
- Consent signals continue to become the authoritative control point for advertising-data governance across Google's ecosystem.
What Changed
Until June 15, advertising data collected through the Google Analytics tag was governed by two controls working in tandem: the Google Signals setting inside Google Analytics, and Consent Mode's ad_storage parameter. Both had to permit tracking for the full advertising signal to reach your linked Google Ads account.
That dual-control model no longer applies, Google has now separated these two data flows:
- Ads data in Google Analytics is now controlled solely by the Google Signals setting
- Ads data in Google Ads is now controlled solely by Consent Mode, specifically the ad_storage parameter
In practice, this means ad_storage has become the single governing signal for what advertising data reaches your Google Ads account. Google Signals remains relevant, but only for Analytics-side reporting: associating sessions with signed-in users within GA4. It no longer acts as a check on what flows into Ads.
What This Means for Advertisers
The practical implication depends on how your Google Signals was configured.
If Google Signals is already ON,which is the case for most advertisers, your data behavior is unchanged. The transition is largely transparent. ad_storage in your Consent Mode setup was already doing the heavy lifting; it continues to do so.
If Google Signals is OFF,whether by deliberate configuration, a privacy-by-design decision, or legacy setup, this change has a more significant impact. Web and app activity where ad_storage has been granted will now be associated with Google's signed-in user info and passed to your linked Ads account. Previously, the Signals-off setting prevented this behavior but that is no longer the case.
As Google's own guidance notes, setting ad_storage to denied by default would materially affect campaign performance in linked Ads accounts, particularly for conversion tracking, remarketing audiences, and bidding models that rely on user-level advertising signals.
For advertisers, the operational takeaway is that the accuracy of your consent configuration now has a more direct influence on how advertising signals are collected, processed, and activated across Google's advertising products. Well-configured consent signals help reduce unexpected changes in campaign behavior and minimize reactive troubleshooting across marketing and privacy teams.
The Role of OneTrust
If you're already using OneTrust's CMP with Google Consent Mode v2 correctly configured, no product changes are required to your OneTrust setup.OneTrust has supported Google Consent Mode v2, including all four parameters (ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data, and ad_personalization), since Google's enforcement milestone in 2024, helping organizations keep consent signals interoperable across Google's advertising ecosystem and evolving implementation standards. If your template is passing these signals correctly based on user consent choices, the June 15 change doesn't break anything on the OneTrust side.
What this update does reinforce is the importance of validating that your existing configuration still reflects your organization's intended privacy posture. Correct implementation remains the key differentiator, not new functionality. As Google's consent requirements continue to evolve, ongoing validation becomes just as important as the initial implementation.
This is a good opportunity to review several areas:
Check your ad_storage defaults.
For European Union (EU) member states, EFTA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), UK, and Switzerland traffic, ad_storage should default to denied and update to granted only when a user actively accepts advertising cookies. This is a requirement under Google's EU User Consent Policy, and now that ad_storage is the sole control over what reaches Google Ads, misconfiguration here is more consequential than before.
Confirm you're on Consent Mode v2.
If your implementation only sets ad_storage and analytics_storage, you're running an incomplete v2 integration. ad_user_data and ad_personalization need to be included for full compliance and to future-proof your setup ahead of Google's planned consolidation of ads personalization controls.
Review any Signals-off configurations.
If your organization had Google Signals disabled as a privacy measure, and that decision was reflected in your data processing agreements or privacy disclosures, now is the time to reassess whether your ad_storage defaults align with your intended data governance position.
For organizations that want additional confidence, this review does not need to be a one-time exercise. OneTrust Compliance Assistant continuously validates Google Consent Mode implementations as part of your CMP, helping teams confirm that consent signals behave as intended as websites evolve. It verifies Google Consent Mode tag behavior and consent signal timing, surfaces broken or inconsistent implementations, and provides prioritized remediation guidance.
That gives marketing and privacy teams ongoing visibility into whether their Google Consent Mode configuration continues to reflect their intended privacy posture without relying solely on periodic manual audits.
For example, an organization that previously relied on Google Signals being disabled to limit advertising data sharing should confirm that its consent defaults now achieve that same outcome through Consent Mode.
Correct configuration delivers benefits beyond regulatory alignment. It helps provide reliable consent signal handling, supports continued compatibility with Google's advertising products, reduces operational rework when platform updates occur, and gives both marketing and privacy teams greater confidence that advertising data is being governed consistently.
Need More Time?
Google has confirmed that advertisers who need additional time to update their privacy disclosures or tag configurations can request a 90-day extension. If your team needs to revisit consent language, update your DPA, or work through configuration changes, this option is available.
The Bigger Picture
This change reinforces a trend that's been building for several years.:Consent signals, not platform-level toggles or specific settings, are becoming the authoritative control point over how advertising data flows and is governed.
The move away from a dual-control model to a single ad_storage parameter is consistent with Google's broader direction of placing the Consent Management Platform at the center of data governance decisions across its advertising ecosystem.
Rather than relying on multiple product-level switches, advertisers are increasingly expected to establish privacy intent once through their consent platform and allow those consent signals to govern downstream advertising technologies consistently.
For OneTrust customers, this is precisely the architecture our Google Consent Mode integration was built for and designed from the beginning. The controls are in the right place. The ongoing priority is ensuring that consent defaults, mappings, and governance decisions continue to reflect your organization's current privacy intent as Google's requirements evolve. Continuous validation helps teams confirm those configurations continue to work as expected, even as websites, tags, and advertising technologies change over time.Have questions about your OneTrust Consent Mode configuration? Visit MyOneTrust or speak with your OneTrust account team to review your setup.
For more on how OneTrust integrates with Google Consent Mode, visit our integration overview.
Advertisers’ Questions About Google's June 15 Consent Mode Update
