GA4 Consent Mode setup and testing

Identify your GA4 measurement ID and whether GA4 loads through GTM, direct gtag.js or both. Find the initial page_view, enhanced measurement and custom events. Duplicated installers can make a clean consent test look inconsistent.

Set a denied default before GA4 loads or is evaluated. On the banner's Analytics choice, update analytics_storage to granted or denied. Keep advertising signals separate; granting Analytics is not permission for Ads personalization.

If your required behavior is no GA4 request before permission, implement Basic mode with actual blocking. A denied analytics_storage value in Advanced mode can still produce cookieless signals.

Use the matrix below as a manual test plan. For each row, inspect Tag Assistant's Consent tab, GA4-related Network requests and browser storage. Capture the first page view and an event after the choice.

In GA4, review Admin → Data collection and modification → Consent settings for diagnostic status. Google's reporting may take 48–72 hours to reflect a corrected implementation, so use Tag Assistant and browser traces for immediate verification.

If page_view appears twice, inspect automatic and manual page views, GTM and direct gtag installations, and route changes. If no event appears after grant, check whether a blocked tag is retriggered on consent update or only on the next navigation.