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January 2024 GA4 & Google Updates

Napkyn's Monthly Update on all things GA4 - The things you need to know.

Napkyn's Monthly Update on all things GA4 - The things you need to know.

Ricardo Cristofolini

Senior Implementation Specialist, Data Solutions

I’m passionate about what I do. If you meet my manager or co-workers, they would say I’m a team player, engaged and always excited to learn something new. Like everyone else I have some flaws. However I’m not afraid to work around those to bring the best in myself and for the company.

Key Product Changes for Existing Consent Mode in 2024

As you may remember, in November 2023, Google introduced two additional consent mode parameters in the consent mode API to support specific user consent for data sent to Google. Those are:

  • ad_user_data → Sets consent for sending user data to Google for advertising purposes

    • ad_personalization → Sets consent for personalized advertising.

Starting March 2024, for customers who have implemented consent mode, their ad_storage parameter will be automatically mapped to the new ad_user_data parameter. This means that when consent is granted or denied for ad_storage, ad_user_data will respect the same setting, ensuring that the performance measurement capabilities of your original implementation continue to work as expected.

Do you have to do something about this?

No action is required for existing users for consent mode for measurement purposes. Starting March 2024, the consent states (“granted” / “denied”) associated with ad_storage will be automatically mapped to ad_user_data. This means that both the default consent state and user-selected consent state for ad_storage will also applied to the ad_user parameter, and measurement features for consent mode will continue to work as expected.

Now, if you do not want ad_user_data settings automatically mapped, you may implement the new consent mode parameter directly in your Google Tag setup to set and control the parameters independently.

Finally, no changes will be made to your configuration for the new ad_personalization parameter.

Play Console Recommendations

Google decided to focus more on Apps this time and if it notices that an unlinked Google Play app is associated with your Google Analytics property, you may now see a recommendation to link your Play Console account to Google Analytics. By linking your Play Console account, you can access in-app purchase and subscription metrics in your Google Analytics 4 reports.

GA4 Google Tag Update

At present all Google Services can receive data labeled with consent by default. This is due to the Digital Markets Act (DMA). You can find this feature under Data StreamConfigure tag settings → Scroll down and click Show MoreManage data use across Google services. The following should be available:

Note that, in case you don’t want a specific tool to receive the data, the Configuration menu also provides an option to select a specific one to receive, or not, the data.

In-product Help

  • GA4 now has multiple options to support new users in the tool. On the top right under the question mark “ ? ” it’s possible to access multiple options for further details about GA4.

    • Learn About This Page → Provide detailed guidance on using features on the current page you’re in.

      • Start Tour → Open a guided tour, where available, that walks through key procedures relevant to the page you’re in.

      • Get More Help → Redirects you to the Google Analytics Help Centre or to join the Google Analytics Help Community for further assistance.

      • Send feedback → Did you see something wrong? Found a bug? Share your feedback with the Google Analytics team.

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Napkyn Inc.
204-78 George Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 5W1, Canada

Napkyn US
6 East 32nd Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA

212-247-0800 | info@napkyn.com  

Napkyn Inc.
204-78 George Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 5W1, Canada

Napkyn US
6 East 32nd Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10016, USA

212-247-0800 | info@napkyn.com