Integrate IAB TCF 2.0 support using tags and the Platform Web SDK extension

Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK supports the Interactive Advertising Bureau Transparency & Consent Framework, version 2.0 (IAB TCF 2.0). This guide shows you how to set up a tag property for sending IAB TCF 2.0 consent information to Adobe using the Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK tag extension.

If you do not wish to use tags, please refer to the guide on using IAB TCF 2.0 without tags.

Getting started

In order to use IAB TCF 2.0 with tags and the Platform Web SDK extension, you need to have an XDM schema and dataset available.

Additionally, this guide requires you to have a working understanding of Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK. For a quick refresher, please read the Adobe Experience Platform Web SDK overview and the Frequently asked questions documentation.

Setting default consent

Within the extension configuration, there is a setting for default consent. This controls the behavior of customers who do not have a consent cookie. If you want to queue Experience Events for customers who do not have a consent cookie, set this to pending. If you want to discard Experience Events for customers who do not have a consent cookie, set this to out. You can also use a data element to dynamically set the default consent value. See defaultConsent for more information.

Updating Profile with consent information consent-code-1

To call the setConsent action when your customers consent preferences have changed, create a tag rule. Start by adding a new event and choose the Core extension’s “Custom Code” event type.

Use the following code sample for your new event:

// Wait for window.__tcfapi to be defined, then trigger when the customer has completed their consent and preferences.
function addEventListener() {
  if (window.__tcfapi) {
    window.__tcfapi("addEventListener", 2, function (tcData, success) {
      if (success && tcData.eventStatus === "useractioncomplete") {
        // save the tcData.tcString in a data element
        _satellite.setVar("IAB TCF Consent String", tcData.tcString);
        _satellite.setVar("IAB TCF Consent GDPR", tcData.gdprApplies);
        trigger();
      }
    });
  } else {
    // window.__tcfapi wasn't defined. Check again in 100 milliseconds
    setTimeout(addEventListener, 100);
  }
}
addEventListener();

This custom code does two things:

Creating an XDM data element for Experience Events

The consent string should be included in the XDM Experience Event. To do this, use the XDM Object data element. Start by creating a new XDM Object data element, or alternatively, use one you already created for sending events. If you have added the Experience Event Privacy schema field group to your schema, you should have a consentStrings key in the XDM object.

Sending an initial Experience Event with IAB TCF 2.0 consent information

If the initial Experience Event on the page is triggered with a page load event, the consent string might not have loaded yet. This rule is intended to replace your current page load event. To make sure the consent information is loaded first, create a new rule and add the following code as a custom code event:

// Wait for window.__tcfapi to be defined, then trigger when there is a consent string
function addEventListener() {
  if (window.__tcfapi) {
    window.__tcfapi("addEventListener", 2, function (tcData, success) {
      if (success && (tcData.eventStatus === "useractioncomplete" || tcData.eventStatus === "tcloaded")) {
        // save the tcData.tcString in a data element
        _satellite.setVar("IAB TCF Consent String", tcData.tcString);
        _satellite.setVar("IAB TCF GDPR Applies", tcData.gdprApplies);
        trigger();
      }
    });
  } else {
    // window.__tcfapi wasn"t defined. Check again in 100 milliseconds
    setTimeout(addEventListener, 100);
  }
}
addEventListener();

This code is identical to the previous custom code, except that both useractioncomplete and tcloaded events are handled. The previous custom code only triggers when the customer chooses their preferences for the first time. This code also triggers when the customer has already chosen their preferences. For example, on the second page load.

Add a “Send Event” action from the Platform Web SDK extension. Within the XDM field, choose the XDM data element you created in the previous section.

Sending other events with IAB TCF 2.0 consent information

When events are triggered after the initial Experience Event, the two data elements are still defined and can be used to send the IAB consent information. Use the same XDM data element to send future events. IAB TCF 2.0 information is included.

Next steps

Now that you have learned how to use IAB TCF 2.0 with the Platform Web SDK extension, you can also choose to integrate with other Adobe solutions such as Adobe Analytics or Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform. See the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework 2.0 overview for more information.