{"id":130,"date":"2026-07-20T14:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lukaswojcik.com\/blog\/?p=130"},"modified":"2026-10-26T10:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:53:17","slug":"controlling-cookie-consent-for-microsoft-ads-consent-mode-with-javascript-and-gtm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lukaswojcik.com\/blog\/en\/digital-marketing\/controlling-cookie-consent-for-microsoft-ads-consent-mode-with-javascript-and-gtm\/","title":{"rendered":"Controlling Cookie Consent for Microsoft Ads: Consent Mode with JavaScript and GTM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microsoft Universal Event Tracking (UET) is measurement code, also called a tag. It records actions such as a purchase or form submission as advertising conversions. Consent Mode passes a consent state to the tag and controls cookie access. A banner collects the decision; Consent Mode applies the decision technically. The setting does not automatically authorize every data transfer.<\/p>\n

Basic and Advanced are different setups<\/h2>\n

Basic<\/strong> blocks UET until the required consent exists. Advanced<\/strong> loads UET with an explicit denied<\/code> default and sends restricted measurement signals. Microsoft describes the data as anonymized and aggregated before modeling. That description is not a general guarantee that every network request in every implementation contains no personal information.<\/p>\n

The ad_storage<\/code> signal controls cookie access. According to Microsoft, denied<\/code> prevents reading and writing first-party UET cookies and writing third-party cookies. Existing third-party cookies may still be read for fraud and spam prevention. \u201cNo cookies\u201d is therefore an imprecise blanket description.<\/p>\n

\n\"Comparison
UET uses ad_storage for cookie access. Google signals cover different purposes. Basic blocks the tag; Advanced sends restricted signals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Direct JavaScript implementation<\/h2>\n

Each page needs a denied default early enough to prevent the first measurement from using an incorrect state. The following fragment sets the default and defines an update function. The UET base tag, banner interface and stored-choice handling remain separate parts of the integration.<\/p>\n

window.uetq = window.uetq || [];\nwindow.uetq.push('consent', 'default', { ad_storage: 'denied' });\n\nfunction updateUetConsent(advertisingAllowed) {\n  window.uetq = window.uetq || [];\n  window.uetq.push('consent', 'update', {\n    ad_storage: advertisingAllowed === true ? 'granted' : 'denied'\n  });\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n
The consent management platform (CMP), which manages the banner and stored consent choices, calls updateUetConsent(true)<\/code> only for valid advertising consent. Rejection, withdrawal or missing permission calls updateUetConsent(false)<\/code>. A still-valid stored choice must also be transmitted on subsequent pages. This function does not create a banner or persist a choice.<\/p>\n
Implementation through Google Tag Manager<\/h2>\n
The current official UET template supports GTM consent states. A correctly configured CMP supplies the initial state and subsequent updates. No particular third-party consent template is universally required.<\/p>\n