Analytics Consent Guide

How to handle user privacy consent for Firebase Analytics in your Godot iOS game.

Official Firebase docs: Consent mode · Apple privacy requirements

Overview

Privacy regulations like GDPR (Europe), DMA (Digital Markets Act), and US state privacy laws (CCPA, etc.) require you to obtain user consent before collecting certain types of data. Firebase Analytics provides a consent API that controls what data is collected and sent to Google.

This plugin exposes Firebase’s consent API through set_consent(), giving you full control over consent state.

Consent Types

Firebase defines four consent types:

Parameter	Controls	Default
ad_storage	Storage (cookies, device identifiers) related to advertising	granted
analytics_storage	Storage related to analytics (e.g., visit duration, app identifiers)	granted
ad_user_data	Sending user data to Google for advertising purposes	granted
ad_personalization	Personalized advertising (remarketing)	granted

All consent types default to granted. You should call set_consent() before logging any events if your users have not yet consented.

When Do You Need This?

You need consent management if:

• Your game is available in the EU/EEA (GDPR, DMA)
• Your game is available in US states with privacy laws (California, Colorado, Connecticut, etc.)
• You show ads via AdMob or other ad networks
• You collect or share user data with third parties

You probably don’t need it if:

• Your game is only available in regions without privacy regulations
• You’ve disabled analytics collection entirely

Basic Usage

# At app startup, before logging any events, set consent based on user choice.
# Denied by default until the user consents:
FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(false, false, false, false)

# After the user grants consent:
FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(true, true, true, true)

Implementation Pattern

A typical flow for handling consent in a Godot game:

extends Node

# Call this at game startup
func _ready() -> void:
    var consent = _load_consent()
    if consent.is_empty():
        # First launch — deny all until user decides
        FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(false, false, false, false)
        _show_consent_dialog()
    else:
        # Returning user — apply saved preferences
        FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(
            consent.get("ad_storage", false),
            consent.get("analytics_storage", false),
            consent.get("ad_user_data", false),
            consent.get("ad_personalization", false)
        )

func _on_consent_accepted() -> void:
    # User accepted all
    FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(true, true, true, true)
    _save_consent({
        "ad_storage": true,
        "analytics_storage": true,
        "ad_user_data": true,
        "ad_personalization": true
    })

func _on_consent_declined() -> void:
    # User declined — analytics only (no ad data)
    FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(false, true, false, false)
    _save_consent({
        "ad_storage": false,
        "analytics_storage": true,
        "ad_user_data": false,
        "ad_personalization": false
    })

func _on_consent_minimal() -> void:
    # User wants minimum data collection
    FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(false, false, false, false)
    _save_consent({
        "ad_storage": false,
        "analytics_storage": false,
        "ad_user_data": false,
        "ad_personalization": false
    })

# --- Persistence ---

const CONSENT_PATH = "user://consent.cfg"

func _save_consent(consent: Dictionary) -> void:
    var config = ConfigFile.new()
    for key in consent:
        config.set_value("consent", key, consent[key])
    config.save(CONSENT_PATH)

func _load_consent() -> Dictionary:
    var config = ConfigFile.new()
    if config.load(CONSENT_PATH) != OK:
        return {}
    var consent := {}
    for key in config.get_section_keys("consent"):
        consent[key] = config.get_value("consent", key)
    return consent

func _show_consent_dialog() -> void:
    # Show your custom consent UI here
    pass

What Happens When Consent Is Denied?

When consent is denied, Firebase Analytics adjusts its behavior:

Consent denied	Effect
analytics_storage	No analytics cookies/identifiers stored. Events are sent without identifiers (cookieless pings).
ad_storage	No advertising cookies/identifiers stored.
ad_user_data	User data is not sent to Google for advertising.
ad_personalization	No remarketing or personalized ads.

Firebase still sends cookieless pings (without user identifiers) even when consent is denied, so you retain basic measurement data like event counts.

Using with AdMob

If you also use Godot AdMob Plugin, be aware that:

• AdMob’s UMP (User Messaging Platform) handles consent dialogs and automatically updates Google’s Consent Mode for all Firebase products, including Analytics.
• If UMP is managing consent, do not also call set_consent() — let UMP handle it to avoid conflicts.
• If you are not using AdMob/UMP, use set_consent() with your own consent UI.

Setup	Who manages consent
Analytics only (this plugin)	You — call set_consent() based on your own UI
Analytics + AdMob with UMP	AdMob UMP — it updates consent for all Firebase SDKs automatically
Analytics + AdMob without UMP	You — call set_consent() based on your own UI

Apple ATT (App Tracking Transparency)

Apple’s ATT framework is separate from Firebase Consent Mode:

• ATT controls access to the IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) at the OS level. It’s required by Apple before any cross-app tracking.
• Consent Mode controls what data Firebase/Google collects and processes.

They operate independently — you may need both if you use ad tracking. ATT is typically handled by the ad SDK (e.g., AdMob plugin), not by this analytics plugin.

Recommended Consent Configurations

# Full consent — user agreed to everything
FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(true, true, true, true)

# Analytics only — no ad-related data sharing (common for games without ads)
FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(false, true, false, false)

# No consent — minimum data collection
FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(false, false, false, false)

# Ads allowed but no personalization
FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(true, true, true, false)

Letting Users Change Their Mind

GDPR requires that users can withdraw consent at any time. Add a settings option:

func _on_privacy_settings_pressed() -> void:
    _show_consent_dialog()  # Re-show your consent UI

func _on_consent_updated(new_consent: Dictionary) -> void:
    FirebaseIOS.analytics.set_consent(
        new_consent.get("ad_storage", false),
        new_consent.get("analytics_storage", false),
        new_consent.get("ad_user_data", false),
        new_consent.get("ad_personalization", false)
    )
    _save_consent(new_consent)

Consent changes take effect immediately — Firebase adjusts data collection without requiring a restart.