Know what’s on your site before a plaintiff’s firm does
A free privacy audit shows which cookies, pixels and trackers are running — and which ones commonly appear in privacy claims.
Any site that earns money from Google ads will almost certainly set __gads. It’s a first-party cookie, written on the publisher’s own domain, that Google’s ad products use to serve and measure ads. For privacy teams it’s the clearest sign that a site’s Google ad stack needs to sit behind consent.
What Is the __gads Cookie?
Google’s Google’s advertising and measurement cookie reference lists __gads with the purposes Advertising and Security, a lifespan of 13 months, and the domain “Set from partner domain,” meaning your site. Google associates it with AdSense, Display & Video 360, Google Ad Manager and Google Ads.
It holds a unique identifier that lets Google’s ad servers recognize the browser on your site across visits. That supports frequency capping (not showing the same ad too often), ad measurement, and fraud and spam detection.
Related Google Publisher Cookies
__gpi: also 13 months, Advertising and Security, AdSense and Ad Manager.__gpi_optout: records an opt-out of personalized ads, 13 months.__eoi: a six-month security cookie. See our __eoi cookie explainer.- Google-domain cookies such as NID and the retired 1P_JAR, which Google now says it no longer sets.
How Long Does __gads Last?
13 months, according to Google. Safari and other browsers with tracking prevention may cut that short for cookies set by script.
Does __gads Need Consent?
EU, EEA and UK
Yes. It’s an advertising identifier, and Google itself requires publishers serving users in the EEA, UK and Switzerland to use a Google-certified consent platform that integrates with the IAB’s Transparency and Consent Framework. When a visitor refuses, Google can still serve non-personalized or limited ads, but cookies like __gads used for ad purposes shouldn’t be set without consent. Our explainer on the Global Vendor List covers how vendors are declared in that framework.
US states
Personalized advertising through Google is generally “sharing” or “targeted advertising” under the CCPA and other state laws. Publishers should offer an opt-out, honor Global Privacy Control, and use Google’s restricted data processing settings for opted-out users.
How to Block or Delete __gads
- Publishers: run a Google-certified CMP in TCF mode for European traffic and turn on Consent Mode, so Google reads the consent string before writing ad cookies.
- Check the order: the AdSense or Ad Manager script shouldn’t load before the CMP has a decision.
- Visitors: clear the site’s cookies, decline advertising in the consent banner, or manage ad personalization in Google’s settings.
Scanning for __gads
Captain Compliance’s scanner flags __gads and the related __gpi cookies as advertising and records whether they appeared before consent. Our consent banner can hold Google ad tags until visitors decide. If you’re unsure whether your site needs a banner, start with do I need cookie consent on my website?
FAQ
Is __gads first-party or third-party?
First-party. It’s written on the publisher’s domain, though Google’s ad servers use it.
Does __gads appear on sites without ads?
Rarely. It usually means AdSense, Ad Manager or a Google Ads tag is running somewhere on the site.
Does declining consent stop all Google ads?
No. Google can serve non-personalized or limited ads without consent, depending on configuration.
For publishers, __gads is tied directly to revenue. The real choice is whether your consent setup lets Google serve something to visitors who say no, or whether those visitors lose ads altogether.
Put this into practice
Turn privacy guidance into working controls.
Captain Compliance helps teams discover tracking technologies, enforce consent, manage privacy requests and document the evidence behind every decision.
