Microsoft Consent Mode

Microsoft Consent Mode is a privacy feature for Microsoft tags that adjusts how data is stored and sent based on a visitor’s consent. It applies to:

• Microsoft Advertising UET (Universal Event Tracking) — ads/conversion tracking
• Microsoft Invest/Curate/Monetize pixels — advertising stack pixels
• Microsoft Clarity — session analytics

With Consent Mode, tags change behavior according to specified consent signals. For UET, the key control is the ad_storage setting: granted (allow ad cookies) or denied (no ad cookies). For Clarity, the Consent API v2 uses ad_Storage and analytics_Storage to enable or restrict cookies and session tracking.

Why it matters

Microsoft Advertising requires consent signals for visits from the EEA, UK and Switzerland starting May 5, 2025; failing to provide them can impact measurement and remarketing. Microsoft Clarity announced enforcement of consent signal requirements for the same regions on October 31, 2025.

How it works

Consent signals & tag behavior – UET (Microsoft Advertising)

Control consent with the ad_storage parameter:

• granted → UET may read/write cookies for advertising and conversions.
• denied → UET does not read/write first-party ad cookies; third-party access remains restricted.

Set consent with default and update commands via window.uetq .

Clarity (Session analytics)

Use Consent API v2:

• ad_Storage and analytics_Storage (each: granted/denied).

When denied, Clarity runs in a no-consent mode without setting its cookies (_clck , _clsk ). When granted, it sets cookies and sessions persist across pages. Clarity can also honor Google Consent Mode signals if you use them.

Mapping to Compliance by Hu-manity.co categories

Compliance by Hu-manity.co lets you map your purpose categories (e.g., Ad Personalisation, Site Optimisation/Analytics) to Microsoft consent signals. When a visitor saves preferences, Compliance by Hu-manity.co sends the appropriate grant/deny values to Microsoft tags automatically.

Compliance by Hu-manity.co & Microsoft Consent Mode

Microsoft Consent Mode requires the Professional plan. Free-plan users will see this feature locked in the Protection tab with an upgrade prompt.

Compliance by Hu-manity.co integrates with Microsoft Consent Mode so you don’t need to hand-code most of this.

How to enable

1. In WordPress admin, open Compliance by Hu-manity.co.
2. Go to the Protection tab.
3. Click Consent Modes.
4. Select Microsoft, toggle it Enabled, and click Apply.

With Autoblocking enabled (recommended)

Compliance by Hu-manity.co blocks non-essential third-party code by default for GDPR-style regions. When you enable Microsoft Consent Mode, Compliance by Hu-manity.co permits Microsoft scripts to load early only to receive consent signals, while it sets storage to denied until the user consents. After consent, Compliance by Hu-manity.co updates signals and the tags adjust behavior accordingly. (See also our Google Consent Mode article for the same pattern.)

With Autoblocking disabled

Compliance by Hu-manity.co does not pre-block non-essential scripts. If you don’t set a safe default, UET may assume ad_storage: granted . Always send a default denied before user choice, then update after consent.

FAQs

Is Microsoft Consent Mode mandatory?

Microsoft Advertising requires user consent signals for EEA/UK/CH traffic starting May 5, 2025 (missing signals affect measurement/remarketing). Microsoft Clarity will enforce consent signals from October 31, 2025.

Does Microsoft model conversions like Google’s “advanced” mode?

Microsoft’s approach focuses on basic consent signaling (ad_storage) and does not currently offer Google-style conversion modeling; expect reduced attribution without consent. (Industry analyses.)

Which tags are covered?

UET (Microsoft Advertising), Universal Pixel/Segment/Conversion pixels in Microsoft Invest/Curate/Monetize, and Clarity.