Requests sent before a choice
The check records requests to ad and analytics vendors that happen before any banner choice. Those requests show what a visitor’s browser shared before they had a say.
Free tool · Cookie consent checker
Does tracking fire before cookie consent?
Many sites load ad and analytics tags as soon as the page opens. This check loads your homepage once and records what fires before any choice is made on the banner.
What this checks
What the check looks at on one homepage load.
Each item is something the scan records from the browser or reads from your published Tag Manager container.
Cookies set before a choice
It looks at advertising and analytics cookies set on that first load. A cookie set before a choice is a common sign that a tag runs without waiting for consent.
Google tags and consent signals
Google tags can read consent signals and hold back, or send cookieless pings. Read this result alongside the Consent Mode check, which looks at those signals.
Tags that ignore the banner
Some tags in Tag Manager have no consent setting, so they run regardless of the banner. The check flags ad tags like that when it sees them send data.
What the results mean
How to read a result.
Each result says what the check saw. Some are information, and some are gaps to fix. The gaps from this check are listed first, then any other gaps the scan found.
Ad data sent before a choice
An ad vendor received data before the visitor answered the banner. Check whether the banner holds that tag back, and what the request carried.
Ad cookies set before a choice
Advertising cookies were set on the first load, before the visitor chose anything. Ask your team why that tag runs ahead of consent.
Analytics cookies set before a choice
Analytics cookies were set before the visitor chose. Whether that is acceptable depends on your consent setup and the rules that apply to your visitors.
No tracking before a choice
No pre-choice ad or analytics activity was seen on this load. That covers one homepage load on desktop only, and a banner may still be holding tags back elsewhere.
How to fix it
Common fixes for what this check reports.
Each one is a change to your site or your tag setup. Your team decides how to make it.
Hold tags until a choice
Set each tag to wait for the banner. In Google Tag Manager that means a consent setting on each tag and triggers that depend on consent being granted.
Set the consent default first
Put the default consent state at the top of the container, before any tag can fire.
Look for scripts outside the container
Vendor scripts added straight into the site code, outside Tag Manager, may skip the container’s consent rules. Find them and bring them under the same setup.
Retest after each change
Load the homepage in a fresh private window and watch the banner. Repeat on the pages visitors land on from your ads.
Limits
What this check can’t see.
The limits of one homepage load, so you can read the result correctly.
- One homepage load on desktop, from one region. Consent rules differ by place, so the result may not match what visitors elsewhere see.
- The Accept and Reject clicks happen in a separate pass, so this result describes the page before any choice was made.
- A banner can hide tools until consent. If nothing appears, that does not prove the tags are absent.
- It cannot see server-side tags, server events, or tags that run on other pages.
- It does not check whether your banner wording or privacy notice is correct.
Read more
Guides on the setup this check covers.
Background reading for the same setup, with the steps behind each fix.
Other free checkers
Check the rest of your tracking.
The other free checks run the same scan and list the gaps for their own topic first.
Consent Mode v2 checker
Consent Mode tells Google tags what a visitor agreed to. This check reads the consent signals your homepage sends and flags setups that leave out the v2 settings or set the default too late.
Cookie banner reject test
A Reject button should stop optional tracking. This check clicks Reject on your homepage in a separate pass and records what keeps running afterwards.
Meta Pixel checker
A Meta Pixel that loads twice, or sends the same page view twice, can inflate the numbers Meta reports. This check counts what your homepage sends to Meta and shows where the Pixel is set up more than once.
Google Ads conversion checker
A Google Ads conversion only counts if a tag sends it to Ads. This check reads how your conversions are set up in your published Tag Manager container and whether they are sent to Google Ads.
GA4 checker
This check looks at what your homepage sends to Google Analytics 4. It flags setups with more than one property, retired Universal Analytics tags, and repeated page views.
Personal data tracking checker
Ad and analytics tags sometimes send personal details inside page addresses or request data. This check looks for categories, such as an email field, and never stores the values. It is built with healthcare and banking sites in mind, but any site can run it.
Google Tag Manager checker
This check reads the published Tag Manager container your homepage loads. It looks at how the container is set up, not only at what reaches the browser.
Lead form attribution checker
When a visitor clicks an ad and fills in a form, the campaign details have to survive the trip. This check follows links to your lead pages and looks for the fields that carry them.
FAQ
Cookie consent: common questions.
Answers to the questions we hear most about this check.
Is this checker free?
Yes. Enter your website and the scan loads your live site and reports what it finds. You see the verdict and how many gaps it found right away; enter a work email to see each gap and what it means.
Is it a problem if tags fire before consent?
It depends on the tag, the data it sends, and the rules that apply where your visitors are. The check reports what fired, and your compliance team decides what that means for you.
Does a cookie banner stop tracking by itself?
Not always. A banner only stops tracking if the tags behind it read the visitor’s choice. The reject test checks what keeps running after Reject is clicked.
Why does the check show no tracking before a choice?
Either no pre-choice tracking was seen, or the banner held it back. Load the page in a private window to check the banner yourself.
Does this check cover my whole site?
No. It loads one homepage once, on desktop. Other pages can load different tags.
Free Tracking Scan
Find your tracking gaps in about 10 seconds.
Enter your website and we check your live site, then list every gap we find, starting with this check’s. No call needed.