__gads Cookie: What It Is, Who Sets It, and Consent Rules

What the __gads Cookie Does on Your Site

The __gads cookie is a first-party advertising cookie that Google AdSense sets on the domain of the publisher to show ads and limit how often a visitor sees an ad. The __gads and __gpi cookies are "first-party cookies set on the publisher's domain" that support "frequency capping and ads personalization", according to the Google Ad Manager help. The __gads cookie holds an ID for ad serving, and Google states that the __gads cookie "is not allowed for personalization usages". The __gpi cookie carries the ID for personalized ads instead.

Google lists the __gads cookie in the categories Advertising and Security, with a lifetime of 13 months, on the Google list of advertising cookies. The __eoi cookie of the same AdSense code serves security only and lasts 6 months.

Who Sets the __gads Cookie

The AdSense code (adsbygoogle.js) sets the __gads cookie on the domain of your site, where Google calls the cookie a first-party cookie set on the domain of the publisher. Google Ad Manager sets the same __gads cookie on the sites of publishers that run Google Ad Manager.

Google lists the __gads cookie in the Advertising and Security categories on the Google list of advertising cookies. The list marks the cookie as set from the partner domain, the domain of your site. A cookie scanner therefore reports the __gads cookie under your own domain.

Read how Google LLC handles the data in the Google AdSense privacy policy, and sign the Google Ads Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms before you collect data from visitors in the EU or the UK. Both documents appear in the sources at the end of this page.

Does the __gads Cookie Need Consent?

Yes, the __gads cookie needs consent in the EU and the UK, and needs no prior opt-in in California. The table gives the rule for each law.

The consent table describes what each law requires and is not legal advice. Whether a law applies to your site depends on where your visitors are, where your business is based, and how you set up Google AdSense, such as the first-party cookie setting of AdSense and the consent management platform you use.

The ePrivacy Directive requires consent before a site sets the __gads cookie. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets the standard for that consent: freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous.

The UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) require consent before a site sets the __gads cookie.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) sets no general opt-in requirement before a site sets the __gads cookie. The CCPA treats the data the __gads cookie collects for cross-context behavioral advertising as sharing. Offer visitors a way to opt out of sale and sharing, such as a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link or the alternative opt-out link the CCPA regulations allow. Honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals as opt-out requests. Sharing the data of a consumer under 16 needs opt-in consent instead: from the consumer from 13 to 15 years, and from a parent under 13.

Read how each law decides which cookies need consent in the EU ePrivacy Directive + GDPR guide, the UK PECR guide, and the California CCPA guide.

How to Block the __gads Cookie Until Visitors Accept

Block the __gads cookie by holding back the AdSense code (adsbygoogle.js) until the visitor accepts advertising cookies. TermsFeed Free Cookie Consent and TermsFeed Privacy Consent place Google AdSense in the advertising category. Check whether an exemption applies to your own use of Google AdSense in the consent rules for the __gads cookie.

Google AdSense writes no __gads cookie while the AdSense code waits as a tagged script, and the ad units of the page stay empty for a visitor who declines.

<script type="text/plain" data-cookie-consent="targeting" async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-YOUR_PUBLISHER_ID" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

Block the __gads Cookie With Google Consent Mode v2

Google Consent Mode v2 tells Google whether the visitor allows ad_storage, ad_user_data, and ad_personalization. Google sets no new advertising cookies while ad_storage is denied, according to the Google tag platform guide on consent mode. Set all 3 to denied by default and update them to granted once the visitor accepts advertising cookies.

AdSense needs more than Google Consent Mode v2 for personalized ads in the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland. Google requires a Google-certified consent management platform (CMP) integrated with the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF), according to the AdSense help on consent management requirements. The requirement applies since 16 January 2024 for the EEA and the UK, and since 31 July 2024 for Switzerland.

Set up the default and the update calls with how to integrate Google Consent Mode v2 with Cookie Consent.

Stop the __gads Cookie in AdSense

Turn off "allow first-party cookies from Google" in AdSense under Brand safety, Content, Blocking controls, and Manage ad serving to stop the __gads and __gpi cookies on your domain. Google combined the cookie setting with the ad personalization setting on 12 November 2024, according to the AdSense help.

The setting stops the first-party cookies of AdSense only. The AdSense code still loads from Google and still sends requests to the domains of Google, so the AdSense code needs consent with the setting off as well.

How to Verify That the __gads Cookie Waits for Consent

Verify the setup in a private window. Open Chrome DevTools, select the Application tab, and open Cookies. Click "I decline" on the consent banner and reload the page. The __gads cookie must not appear in the list until you accept advertising cookies.

How Long the __gads Cookie Lasts

The __gads cookie lasts 13 months (395 days).

The __gads cookie has "a max-age of 13 months", according to the Google Ad Manager help on publisher first-party IDs, and the Google list of advertising cookies gives 13 months as well. The 13 months stay within the 400 days that Chrome allows for any cookie.

Cookies That Work Together With __gads

Google AdSense sets 2 other cookies next to the __gads cookie in its current setup.

Scripts and Requests of Google AdSense That Come With the __gads Cookie

The catalog lists 1 scripts, pixels, and data endpoints of Google AdSense, which a cookie scanner or the Network tab of Chrome DevTools shows next to the __gads cookie. Block the main script, and the requests in the table stop with the main script.

Changes to the __gads Cookie

The catalog records 2 dated changes that affect the __gads cookie. The newest change comes first.

__gads Cookie FAQs

Is __gads a necessary cookie?

No, the __gads cookie is not a strictly necessary cookie. Firstly, your site works the same for a visitor who refuses the __gads cookie, apart from the ads. Secondly, Google uses the cookie for ad serving and frequency capping, purposes the ePrivacy Directive exemption does not cover. Thirdly, Google itself offers a setting in AdSense that stops the first-party cookies of AdSense.

What is the difference between __gads and __gpi?

The __gads cookie holds an ID for ad serving, and the __gpi cookie holds the ID that Google uses for personalized ads. The __gads cookie "is not allowed for personalization usages", and both cookies last 13 months, according to the Google Ad Manager help.

Does AdSense need a certified CMP?

Yes, AdSense needs a Google-certified CMP integrated with the TCF for personalized ads in the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland. Firstly, Google requires the certified CMP since 16 January 2024 for the EEA and the UK. Secondly, Google added Switzerland on 31 July 2024. Thirdly, traffic from a CMP without certification "may be eligible for non-personalized ads or limited ads", according to the AdSense help on consent management requirements.

How long does the __gads cookie last?

The __gads cookie lasts 13 months, according to the Google Ad Manager help. Chrome keeps every cookie for 400 days at most, a cap that leaves the 13 months of the __gads cookie unchanged.