Google has changed how Google Analytics 4 hands advertising data to Google Ads. As of June 15, 2026, the Consent Mode ad_storage parameter is the single control over whether GA4 passes ad cookies and identifiers to a linked Ads account. The Google Signals fallback that previously backfilled cross-device ad data no longer applies.
Google frames the change as consolidation. Its ad settings will, in the company’s words, “exclusively control Google Ads data (including data shared by Google Analytics), while Google Analytics settings will exclusively control data used within Google Analytics for behavioral reporting.”
The dual system is gone
Until June 15, two settings together decided whether Google Ads received advertising cookies and user IDs: the Google Signals toggle in GA4, and the ad_storage parameter in Consent Mode. Both had to permit tracking. Now only ad_storage does.
If ad_storage = granted, full collection proceeds. If ad_storage = denied, GA4 sends only anonymous pings. Google Signals keeps a narrower job: associating data with signed-in Google users for Analytics reporting.
| Before June 15 | After June 15 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ad-data control | Google Signals and ad_storage (both must permit) | ad_storage only |
| Google Signals role | Cross-device backfill + signed-in reporting | Signed-in reporting only |
| ad_storage = denied | Signals could still backfill | Anonymous pings only |
Where the risk sits
Basic conversion tracking is not breaking — the Google Ads tag keeps firing conversions as before. Remarketing is the exposure. Where consent capture sits below 100%, audiences that relied on the Signals cross-device backfill can shrink, because that backfill is gone. Cross-channel dashboards that blend GA4 and Ads data may also show smaller addressable audiences.
What to do now
Audit the Consent Mode setup first. Confirm ad_storage fires correctly on consent, because a default-denied or misfiring signal now degrades conversion modeling, audience building and attribution at once — even while basic tag conversions keep collecting.
Consistent campaign tagging matters more than ever here. Clean utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign values keep the data you do collect usable, so build them with a campaign URL builder and follow a single GA4 UTM tagging standard across the team. One more change is queued for later in 2026: ads personalization also moves to Google Ads control, via the ad_personalization signal.
Sources: Google, “Updates to Google Analytics Data Controls” (support.google.com); dataslayer.ai; Merkle.
