URL passthrough
Why long codes such as ?_gl= or gclid can appear in your URLs before a visitor makes a choice, and how to turn this off
Last updated About 4 hours ago
URL passthrough is a Google Consent Mode feature. While a visitor hasn't given consent for storage, Google tags can't use cookies to remember where the visit came from. With URL passthrough switched on, Google tags instead add that information to the links on your page as URL parameters, such as ?_gl=, gclid or dclid. That's why you may see long codes in your URLs before a visitor has made a choice in the consent banner.
Whether you want this is up to you. Keeping it on helps Google measure ad clicks without cookies. Turning it off keeps your URLs clean.
Turning URL passthrough on or off
Where you change it depends on how you installed Consent Studio.
Installation Code
If you use the Installation Code from the setup wizard, find url_passthrough in the configuration at the top of the code. Set it to false to turn it off, or true to turn it on. The Installation Code ships with url_passthrough set to false.
Our installation guide can help you with this. By opening the Web CMP dropdown menu in the dashboard and clicking Install Consent Studio in the third column, you will navigate to dynamic questionnaire that will give you installation advice and will allow you to modify your snippet.
Google Tag Manager
If you use the Consent Studio tag template in Google Tag Manager, Enable URL Passthrough is on by default on purpose. That gives Google a small data advantage: it can keep attributing clicks without cookies. Open the Consent Studio tag and switch the option off if you don't want those URL parameters. Then publish your container. See Google Tag Manager: How to Install Consent Studio.
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