Set by Google's Consent Mode v2 to store the timestamp of a Google Ads click when ad-storage consent has been granted. Used together with _gcl_gf to reconstruct attribution once the visitor consents.
90 days
Google LLC
_gcl_gs is a advertising cookie. Under Art. 5(3) ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR, it must not be set before the visitor has given prior, informed, freely-given consent.
If your scanner finds _gcl_gs on a page beforethe visitor interacts with your consent banner, that's a violation — the cookie loaded without a legal basis.
Fix: gate the script that sets this cookie behind your CMP, so it only fires after the relevant consent category is accepted.
Run a free CookieSentry scan to find every cookie set before consent — including _gcl_gs — and get a downloadable evidence PDF.
Run a free scan →