Microsoft Ads Consent Mode: A Complete Guide to Implementation and Differences
With growing privacy regulations (GDPR, DMA), managing user consent has become the foundation of web analytics. Everyone is familiar with Google Consent Mode (GCM), but Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads) has also introduced its own mechanism for its UET (Universal Event Tracking) tag. How does it work and how do you implement it?
What is Microsoft Ads Consent Mode?
Microsoft Ads Consent Mode allows the UET tag to adjust its behavior based on whether the user has granted consent for advertising cookies (ad_storage). If consent is denied, the UET tag does not store cookies (like _uetvid) but can still send anonymous, cookieless pings to Microsoft’s servers. This helps with basic conversion modeling.
Implementation via Vanilla JavaScript
If you are not using GTM and have the UET tag hardcoded on your site, you can manage consent using the .push method on the uetq array. Microsoft has aligned its API closely with Google’s approach.
Step 1: Set the default state (before the UET tag loads):
JavaScript
window.uetq = window.uetq || [];
window.uetq.push('consent', 'default', {
'ad_storage': 'denied'
});
Step 2: Update after the user clicks “Accept” in the banner:
JavaScript
window.uetq.push('consent', 'update', {
'ad_storage': 'granted'
});
This tells the UET tag that it is now allowed to drop and read identifiers in the browser.
Implementation via Google Tag Manager (GTM)
Implementing this via GTM is straightforward because the official Microsoft UET tag natively integrates with GTM’s Consent API.
- State Management (Simo Ahava’s Template): Use the Consent Mode (Google tags) template created by Simo Ahava. While named for Google, this template sets the global GTM consent state (like
ad_storage). - UET Tag Configuration: Add the official “Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking” tag in your GTM workspace.
- Advanced Consent Settings: Under the tag’s Advanced Settings -> Consent Settings, specify that the tag requires
ad_storageconsent. - When consent is granted, GTM updates the state, and the UET tag automatically reacts, shifting from cookieless pings to full tracking.
Differences: Google Consent Mode vs. Microsoft Ads
The core concept is identical, but the maturity of the modeling engines differs:
- Data Modeling: Google has a highly sophisticated Conversion Modeling engine that uses cookieless pings (from Advanced Consent Mode) to fill data gaps in GA4 and Google Ads. Microsoft Ads also uses cookieless pings for modeling, but their system is less mature and typically requires a higher volume of data to function accurately.
- Signal Complexity: Google now requires
ad_user_dataandad_personalizationflags (GCM v2). Microsoft Ads primarily relies on the coread_storagesignal.
Do Other Platforms (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Pinterest) Have a Consent Mode?
The short answer is: Not in the same way as Google (Advanced Mode with pings).
Other social networks rely almost entirely on Basic Consent Mode (which means strictly blocking the tag if consent is denied).
- Meta (Facebook): The Meta Pixel does not have an official GDPR “cookieless ping” mode. If a user rejects cookies, you simply block the Meta tag in GTM. They do have Limited Data Use (LDU), but that is primarily for California’s CCPA compliance.
- TikTok: The official TikTok GTM template respects GTM’s Consent API, but it acts as a hard block (no consent = tag doesn’t fire).
- LinkedIn: The Insight Tag supports GTM consent checks, but it pauses tracking completely if consent is missing. It does not send anonymous pings.
- Pinterest: The Pinterest Tag behaves similarly. Denied consent results in a hard block.
Google (and subsequently Microsoft) are the main platforms pushing for restricted data transmission (pings) without cookies to train their AI models.
