IAB TCF
Use the Transparency and Consent Framework to pass standardized consent signals to ad vendors.
Overview
TCF is required by many ad vendors in the EU to share consent at scale across the programmatic ecosystem.
Decision rules
- Implement if you run programmatic ads with third-party vendors.
- Skip if you only use first-party analytics or non-ad tracking.
- Use TCF when partners explicitly require a TC string.
Caveats
The vendor list changes frequently and must be maintained. Ensure your CMP is TCF certified and handle EEA/UK visitors separately.
Implementation steps
- List ad vendors and the purposes you need to support.
- Choose a TCF-certified CMP and configure the vendor list.
- Expose consent choices with clear purpose descriptions.
- Pass the TC string to ad tags and bidder configs.
- Validate using the IAB TCF validator or vendor tools.