_gcl_aw — Google Ads
By the OpenCookies team · published 2026-10-22 · updated 2026-10-22
- Service
- Google Ads
- Category
- Advertising and profiling
- Default duration
- 90 days
- Type
- First-party cookie (set by your own site)
- Consent required?
- Yes, before any storage or reading.
What is it for?
Stores the click ID of a Google Ads ad (gclid) to credit a conversion to the right campaign.
What does it look like?
The value looks like GCL.1700000000.XXXXXXXX: the date and the click ID (gclid) of the ad.
How to see it in your browser
Open your site, press F12, then choose the “Application” tab (Chrome, Edge) or “Storage” (Firefox). Under “Cookies”, select your site’s address: the _gcl_aw cookie appears in the list if present, with its value and expiry date.
What does the rule say?
Targeted advertising, remarketing and profiling require prior, free and informed consent. These cookies cannot be exempted.
How to prevent it before the choice
Same method as _gcl_au: advertising consent denied by default.
How OpenCookies handles it
Common services like this one are in OpenCookies’ tracker list: the banner neutralizes their script before the visitor chooses and only restarts it after “Accept”. The test shows whether this cookie appears before the choice, after “Refuse” and after “Accept”.
Step-by-step guide : Google Consent Mode v2: how to set it up simply
Check it on my site
Does this cookie appear on your site before the visitor chooses? The OpenCookies test shows it in two minutes.
Related cookies
Frequently asked questions
Where does the gclid come from?
Google Ads adds a gclid parameter to the page address when a visitor clicks an ad. The cookie keeps it in memory.
Is it present if nobody clicked an ad?
No: it is only created when the visitor arrives from a Google Ads ad.
Durations are defaults and may change with configuration. This page describes a cookie; it is not legal advice.