Google Server-Side Ad Tags to Accept Full IP Addresses

Google will let advertising tags in server-side Google Tag Manager accept full IP addresses starting Jan. 11, 2027, according to a Google notice to advertisers. Advertisers have until that date to choose full or partially redacted addresses for the affected tags.

The notice covers server-container tags that send data to Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360. Google Analytics tags will continue to redact IP addresses. The notice says nothing about the Google tag or web containers running in a browser.

Google Ads specialist Adriaan Dekker shared the notice on LinkedIn on Nov. 2. The notice carries no issue date, and Google’s Tag Manager release notes did not mention the change as of Nov. 3.

What changes for advertisers on Jan. 11, 2027?

The notice, titled “Updates to network signal processing in server-side tagging,” says server containers “will transition from container-wide IP address redaction to individual tag-level processing.” It sets out four effects:

• Tags that send data to Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360 will accept the full IP address.
• Google Analytics tags will continue to apply IP redaction.
• Third-party tags will maintain independent control over the signals they accept.
• Transformations can redact these signals before any tag accesses the data.

For practitioners, the operational shift is from one container-wide redaction rule to control over each tag.

Google’s release notes show that server-side Tag Manager could redact or anonymize IPs through Analytics server tags as of March 2021. Transformations, which edit or exclude event data before tags read it, followed in June 2023.

The notice does not explain how container-wide redaction works now. As of Nov. 3, Google’s setup page for the Google Ads conversion tag said the tag sends “all the available conversion data to Google” unless transformations change it. That page did not mention IP addresses.

How advertisers can keep IP addresses redacted

Google directs users to “our Help Centre article for detailed opt-out instructions.” The screenshot does not reveal where the link points. A separate Tag Manager Help Center page, “IP address redaction for server-side tagging,” shows how to use transformations to apply partial redaction:

• Create a new Custom Template Variable that calls Google’s getAnonymizedIpAddress function.
• Create a new Augment event transformation that overwrites the ip_override field with the anonymized IP address from the first step.

After those steps, Google says the setting affects the tags selected, including Google Ads and Floodlight. Users should check the results in Preview before deploying to production. The Help page also says Analytics server tags “already apply partial IP redaction by default.”

Google’s API reference says getAnonymizedIpAddress zeroes the last octet of an IPv4 address and the last 80 bits of an IPv6 address. Google calls the result a “partially redacted IP.”

Google added the function after Oct. 12. An Internet Archive capture from that date does not list it; the live page does and shows an Oct. 30 update date.

Some third-party tags may require separate transformations. Google’s Help page says these tags can read IP addresses from custom headers or event parameters rather than from ip_override. Advertisers must target the field that each tag uses.

Consent requirements and unanswered questions

Google requires advertisers using its advertising products to “ensure that proper end-user notices and legally required consents are in place before data collection begins.” Advertisers in the EEA must “strictly adhere” to Google’s EU User Consent Policy.

The policy also covers customers whose end users reside in the United Kingdom and/or Switzerland. Customers elsewhere must follow applicable regional privacy requirements and platform terms.

Google says the update “integrates privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs).” Google also says it filters spam and invalid traffic and will improve campaign performance.

The notice does not explain how tag-level processing will interact with consent mode or non-consenting requests. Google’s release notes said Floodlight tags in server containers had begun sending non-consenting requests in July 2025. The notice does not say where or for how long full IP addresses will be stored.

Google says the server-side change is separate from planned Analytics data controls. Those controls will encrypt IP addresses collected by the Google tag and SDK and pass them to linked Google Ads accounts. Google says it will share their dates later this year. Neither of Google’s server-side pages on Transformations or consent mode mentioned IP addresses as of Nov. 3.

What advertisers should do now

Server-side tagging lets advertisers control how much information travels with each tag as it leaves their servers. The Jan. 11, 2027 notice determines whether Google’s ad tags accept full IP addresses in that setup. Before the deadline, advertisers should review all Google Ads, Floodlight and third-party tags inside their server containers and identify which IP field each tag reads.

Google’s Help Center currently documents a transformation and preview-testing method for partially masking an ad tag’s IP address. Advertisers should review the redaction help page before building that transformation and include any IP data used by these tags in their consent process.

Google’s notice schedules tag-level IP processing for Google server containers to begin Jan. 11, 2027. Advertisers should monitor the Tag Manager release notes for the official announcement and developer pages for implementation details. Starting Jan. 11, 2027, advertisers must manage IP access at the tag level and account for any IP data those tags use in their consent process.