What is a Consent Management Platform?
A Consent Management Platform (CMP), commonly known and visible to website users as a cookie banner, is a tool used by advertisers to manage user consent for data processing activities, particularly in online advertising. It enables advertisers to collect, store, and share user consent signals with ad tech vendors while ensuring compliance with industry standards and data protection regulations.
Why Should Advertisers Implement a Consent Management Platform on Their Websites?
If you are running campaigns targeting users in the EU or UK, it’s crucial to ensure full compliance of your website with updated regulations, including GDPR and the ePrivacy. These regulations mandate that explicit user consent must be obtained before setting any cookies beyond those that are strictly necessary or using third-party tracking tools.
By implementing a Consent Management Platform with clear cookie banners on your website and landing pages, you can effectively gather and manage user consent preferences for ad tech vendors and tracking. This not only helps you stay compliant but also enhances transparency and trust with your audience.
How Does the Outbrain Pixel Respect User Consent Preferences?
At Outbrain, we are committed to maintaining the highest privacy standards. Outbrain pixel is designed with robust consent validation mechanisms to align with these standards. For campaigns targeting EU and UK users, the Outbrain pixel will not collect conversion data or set cookies on devices of users who have denied or not explicitly provided consent for tracking.
Therefore, to use the Outbrain pixel on your campaign landing pages, you must ensure those pages feature a prominently displayed cookie banner that collects consent signals in a supported and compliant manner.
What Consent Signals are Supported by the Outbrain Pixel?
There are numerous methods available for advertisers to collect and store consent preferences. Outbrain supports most of the industry standard signals.
In the EU and the UK, Outbrain pixel can read:
IAB’s TCF standard v2.2 consent signal that can be collected by the CMPs that are registered with IAB;
Note: If you are planning on using TCF standard v2.2 or a CMP that is registered with IAB, please make sure to add Outbrain as a vendor in your CMP’s Vendors list (IAB global vendor ID for Outbrain UK is 164 and for Zemanta is 210). Outbrain must receive consent for all eleven data collection purposes defined by IAB’s and as an IAB Vendor to be able to track conversions using the Outbrain pixel. |
Consent signals from the websites that implement Google Consent Mode. You can learn more about configuring it using Google Tag Manager by visiting Google’s documentation which also provides a link to the list of Google's CMP Partners. Outbrain relies on properly updated values of the Google Tag entries to define the user's consent status.
In the rest of the world Outbrain pixel can additionally read and adjust pixel’s behavior based on the following available consent signals:
CCPA Compliance Framework that is specifically applicable to businesses that operate in California, USA;
GPP protocol that aims to provide a unified approach to managing consent and compliance across various global jurisdictions.
How to Choose the Right Consent Management Platform?
Step 1: Review Cookie Banner Implementation for Compliance
To ensure GDPR and ePrivacy compliance, your Consent Management Platform must be prominently displayed to users upon their first visit and adhere to the following standards:
Clear and Accessible: The CMP should be immediately visible upon arrival, typically as a banner or overlay, allowing users to provide consent before interacting further with your website.
Detailed Information: Provide transparent, specific details about the data collected, its purpose, and who it may be shared with. Include links to your full privacy policy for users who wish to learn more.
Explicit Consent Options: Users must have clear choices to accept or decline different types of data processing and vendors accessing their data. Cookie banners should include buttons or checkboxes for configuring each data collection purpose (e.g., analytics, marketing) and each vendor. A compliant banner must also provide an easy way to reject all data collection purposes.
Easy Withdrawal Options: Ensure users can easily update their consent preferences at any time by including a link to the CMP in a prominent location, such as the footer or a settings page.
Step 2: Ensure Your Consent Management Platform (CMP) is Compatible with Outbrain’s Supported Consent Signals
Advertisers have various methods to collect and store user consent preferences. Outbrain supports widely recognized industry standards, including the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) v2.2 and Google Consent Mode.
When selecting a CMP, ensure it can generate a consent signal in one of the supported formats outlined in this article. This will help ensure seamless integration and compliance with Outbrain's requirements.
How to Implement a Consent Management Platform
Step 1: Choose a Compliant CMP
Select a CMPs that are registered with IAB that is adherent with the IAB’s TCF v2.2 standard (applicable in the EU and the UK) or a Google's CMP Partners.
Alternatively, you can use a custom CMP solution that supports Google Consent Mode.
Step 2: Integrate and Configure your CMP
Integrate the CMP: Work with your technical team to integrate the CMP’s JavaScript tag into your digital properties, such as websites and mobile apps.
Configure the CMP: Customize the CMP to meet the specific requirements of your data processing activities, including vendor list management and user consent preferences.
Step 3: Test and Validate your CMP Implementation
Test thoroughly: Test the CMP to ensure it accurately captures and manages user consent.
Validate: Confirm that the CMP displays appropriate consent notices, manages user preferences, and communicates consent signals in a manner supported by Outbrain.
Other Guidelines for Ensuring Compliance with Outbrain Pixel Implementation
Use Industry-Recognized CMP Solutions: Choose a Consent Management Platform (CMP) that complies with industry standards, such as those registered with the IAB and supporting IAB’s TCF v2.2 (for clients targeting the EU and the UK), or one of Google's CMP Partners that supports Google Consent Manager. CMPs registered with the IAB or Google are more likely to adhere to the latest data privacy regulation guidelines.
Implement Overlay Cookie Banners: Use overlay cookie banners to ensure users explicitly provide or revoke consent before accessing website content. Without explicit user consent, Outbrain cannot track conversions in the EU or the UK.
Load the Pixel Code Post-Consent: Ensure that the Outbrain pixel code is loaded only after the user provides explicit consent for tracking via the cookie banner. This additionally guarantees that conversion data is collected only after consent is granted.
Review Your Website’s Cookie Table: Confirm that your cookie table includes the dicbo_id cookie, which may be set by the Outbrain pixel. Details about the dicbo_id cookie are available in Outbrain’s cookie table under the "Users" section.
Manage Cookies Based on User Consent: If your website targets users in the EU and the UK, ensure that all cookies set by your website are deleted or updated based on user interactions with the cookie banner. Recent privacy regulations require website owners to delete cookies if a user revokes consent.
Include Outbrain as a Vendor in Your CMP: For advertisers using TCF v2.2 or a CMP registered with the IAB, ensure that Outbrain is added to your CMP's Vendors list. Outbrain’s IAB global vendor IDs for the UK are 164 and 210. To enable conversion tracking via the Outbrain pixel, ensure Outbrain receives consent for all eleven data processing purposes defined by the IAB.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
What are the currently supported pixel implementation methods?
We strongly recommend using one of the following supported implementation methods:
If your website uses an outdated pixel implementation, such as embedding <img> tags to load the pixel on webpages, please note that this method is being deprecated by Outbrain.
Are there ways to use the Outbrain pixel without implementing a supported consent signal?
While Outbrain strongly encourages you to adopt one of the industry-accepted mechanisms to manage user consent preferences, we understand that it may not always be feasible to implement a supported signal on your website. In such cases, you can explore alternative pixel implementation methods, such as:
Will Codeless pixel features work without consent?
In the EU and the UK, Codeless features of the Outbrain pixel will not work without the user consent.
Can the Outbrain pixel be implemented using iFrame?
The Outbrain pixel requires a supported consent signal to record conversions. If you plan to implement the pixel code on your website using an iFrame, ensure that you include additional code on your webpage to pass the consent signal to the iFrame. This step is necessary for the Outbrain pixel to read the consent signal correctly.
Currently, the Outbrain pixel can automatically read consent from the DoubleClick iFrame without requiring extra development on the advertiser’s part.
For advertisers using Shopify to manage their online stores, please note that the Outbrain pixel does not currently fire during the checkout flow on Shopify websites. Outbrain is actively working on a solution to address this limitation for Shopify users.
If you have any questions about your CMP please reach out to privacy@outbrain.com. For more details on Outbrain’s privacy practices, please visit our Privacy Policy.