What Google’s Latest Data Control Update Means for Your Marketing in 2026

Google has announced a significant update to how data is controlled and managed between Google Ads and Google Analytics. While this may appear, at first glance, to be a minor technical adjustment, it’s looking like it will mark the start of how data, consent and advertising performance will be handled by the tech giant moving forward.

Google’s aim is to simplify data controls by removing overlapping settings between platforms and consolidating them based on where the data is ultimately used. In practice, this introduces a clearer separation of responsibilities between Google Ads and Google Analytics, while placing greater importance on consent-based tracking.

A change in centralised data control

Historically, data flowing between Google Analytics and Google Ads has been governed by a combination of settings across both platforms. This has often led to complexity, particularly when managing consent, audience sharing and tracking configurations.

With this update, Google is moving towards a more centralised model:

• Google Ads will control how data is used for advertising purposes
• Google Analytics will control how data is used for reporting and behavioural insights

This separation is intended to remove redundancy and ensure that user consent preferences are applied consistently. However, it also means that businesses will need to be more deliberate in how they configure their data environments, particularly within Google Ads.

Google Signals: a reduced role in data control

One of the most immediate changes relates to Google Signals.

At present, Google Signals works alongside Consent Mode settings to control the collection of Google Ads cookies and identifiers. From the 15th of June 2026, this will change. Consent Mode within Google Ads will become the primary control mechanism for data collection and usage.

Google Signals will still exist, but its role will be significantly narrowed. It will focus only on associating Analytics data with signed-in user information for reporting purposes, rather than influencing how advertising data is collected or used.

This effectively removes a layer of control from Google Analytics and places it within Google Ads.

Ads personalisation: simplifying, but also centralising

Another key area of change is ads personalisation.

Currently, ads personalisation settings can be configured across multiple layers within Google Analytics, including account, property, event and linking levels. This creates flexibility, but also introduces complexity and potential inconsistency.

Under the new update, control over whether Analytics data is used for advertising personalisation will sit exclusively within Google Ads, governed by Consent Mode settings.

Once a Google Analytics property is linked to a Google Ads account, the decision becomes binary at a practical level. Either data is permitted for advertising use, or it is not.

This aligns with observations from industry experts who have suggested that there may be little room for nuance under the new system.

IP address handling and data flow

Google has also confirmed updates to how IP addresses are handled.

IP addresses collected via tags and SDKs will be encrypted and passed to linked Google Ads accounts. Once transferred, they will be controlled under Google Ads settings and used in accordance with applicable terms and regional regulations. Further details are expected later in the year.

What this means

Google is simplifying its data ecosystem, but in doing so, it’s also consolidating control. The responsibility for managing how data is used in advertising now sits more firmly within Google Ads, while Google Analytics becomes more focused on reporting and insight generation.

For businesses, this has several practical implications:

• Consent Mode configuration becomes critical to data quality
• Tracking accuracy may vary depending on user consent rates
• Audience building and remarketing capabilities may become more limited without proper setup
• The relationship between Analytics and Ads becomes more dependent on correct linking and configuration

This is less about losing functionality and more about requiring greater precision in how systems are implemented.

The growing importance of consent

Perhaps the most significant underlying theme in this update is the increasing importance of user consent.

Google’s changes are designed to ensure that user preferences are respected consistently across platforms. However, this also means that businesses must take a more proactive role in managing consent frameworks.

If consent is not implemented correctly, or if users opt out at higher rates, the available data for optimisation, targeting and reporting will decrease.

This doesn’t make marketing ineffective, but it does change how performance will be interpreted and how campaigns should be structured.

What businesses need to do next

Rather than viewing this update as a disruption, it’s more useful to see it as a change in how digital marketing needs be managed.

Businesses should begin by reviewing how their Google Analytics and Google Ads accounts are currently configured, with particular attention to:

• Consent Mode implementation
• Data sharing and linking between platforms
• Audience and remarketing settings
• Tracking consistency across devices and sessions

In many cases, the technical setup that previously “worked well enough” may no longer be suitable.

How Peppermint can support your data and advertising strategy

At Peppermint, we help businesses ensure that their Google Ads, Google Analytics and wider digital marketing systems are configured correctly, aligned strategically and built to perform under evolving platform requirements. This includes reviewing tracking setups, implementing Consent Mode correctly, and ensuring that campaigns are supported by reliable data.

If you would like to understand how these changes could affect your marketing performance, or whether your current setup is working as effectively as it should, get in touch with our team and we’d love to help.