Google adds new data transmission controls to Ads consent stack

Google adds new data transmission controls to Ads consent stack

Google is quietly giving advertisers more granular control over how data flows when consent is limited.

Driving the news. A new feature called Data Transmission Control is appearing in Google Ads, adding an extra layer on top of Advanced Consent Mode that determines how advertising, analytics and diagnostic data are actually transmitted.

What’s new. Advertisers can now independently restrict advertising data, behavioral analytics and diagnostic data. When ad_storage consent is denied, there are two options: allow limited advertising data with identifiers redacted (while still enabling conversion modeling), or block advertising data entirely until consent is granted. Behavioral analytics can still be allowed even if ad data is restricted, or blocked altogether if required.

Where to find it. The setting is buried in Data Manager → Google Tag (Manage) → Manage data transmission — and it’s easy to miss.

Why we care. Consent Mode has traditionally focused on signaling user choices. Data Transmission Control goes further by letting advertisers decide — at the tag level — what data is allowed to flow when consent is denied, offering more flexibility for privacy-first measurement strategies.

It also gives advertisers more precision in balancing privacy compliance with performance, especially in regulated markets or regions with strict consent requirements.

Key details. Consent Mode must already be active for the feature to work. Configuration is UI-only within Google Ads, Google Analytics or Campaign Manager 360, and it applies only to Google tags. If the feature isn’t enabled, nothing changes. Once a user grants consent, data transmission resumes automatically.

First seen. This update was first spotted by Google Ads specialist Thomas Eccel and shared the option he saw on LinkedIn.

Screenshot 2026 01 14 At 16.44.30Screenshot 2026 01 14 At 16.44.30

The bottom line. Data Transmission Control adds a powerful — and subtle — new lever for advertisers who want tighter control over data collection without fully sacrificing measurement.


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Anu AdegbolaAnu Adegbola

Anu Adegbola has been Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land since 2024. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media, video and more.

In 2008, Anu started her career delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side. Outside editing Search Engine Land article she is the founder of PPC networking event – PPC Live and host of weekly podcast PPC Live The Podcast.

She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US, UK, Munich, Berlin), Friends of Search (Amsterdam, NL), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna, IT) and more.


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