Limits and scope
Why does Metrunio not measure without consent?
Because Metrunio attributes orders to the advertising before them and has to recognise a browser over several days to do so: that only works with an identifier on the device, and in our cautious assessment Metrunio may create one only with consent. Without consent, Metrunio counts orders your server reports in revenue, with their order number and without browser, customer or advertising identifiers, but attributes them to no advertising; the attribution rate and post-view coverage show you how large that gap is. This is our product decision, not a verdict on other tools: whether one may measure without consent depends on what it measures.
Other tools advertise measurement without a cookie banner. Why does Metrunio not do that?
Tools that advertise measurement without consent mean different things by it: a count of page views without an identifier, an identifier that only exists on the server, or figures a model adds for the visitors without consent. Ask which of these is meant and on what legal basis. For Metrunio, the answer is here.
When other tools measure without consent
That is not unlawful from the outset. Whether a tool may measure without consent depends on what it does: whether it accesses the device, whether it recognises visits over several days and whether it attributes orders to advertising. A count without an identifier or an analysis carried out only on the server may be assessed differently from an identifier in the browser. Metrunio has chosen the cautious route because its attribution needs such an identifier. That is our product decision, not a verdict on other tools.
Why attribution needs an identifier
Metrunio links an order to the advertising before it: last week’s banner, yesterday evening’s click. To do so it has to recognise the same browser on several days, and that only works with something that sits on the device and is read again, such as an identifier in the browser’s storage or the view identifier for post-view. Recognising a device by its characteristics, so-called fingerprinting, is something Metrunio does not do. Without consent, Metrunio therefore creates no identifier, and without an identifier there is neither a journey nor an attribution.
What still happens without consent
- Orders and refunds your server reports without consent count towards revenue for reconciliation: with their order number, without browser, customer or advertising identifiers. They are not attributed, except via the checkout if you switch it on, and they appear as “unattributed” with the reason “No consent”. This lets you reconcile your measured revenue with the shop. After a refusal in the banner this only applies with an activated additional instruction for revenue reconciliation.
- Without consent on the ad side, a tracking link still redirects and passes on only the campaign, no click ID. The visit then counts for the campaign without being linked to the click.
- Nothing else from the browser is stored without consent, and the script sends nothing before a decision.
Where you see the gap
- The attribution rate in the overview: the share of orders and leads with a measured contact before them. Orders without consent count towards it and lower it.
- Post-view coverage under “Channels & attribution”: how many of your viewable impressions are provably linkable to a visit to the shop, per channel and browser family. Without consent on the ad side or in the shop, no view identifier is created.
- Under “Data status”, “Blocked by consent” counts what reached Metrunio without consent and was therefore not stored.
Metrunio does not fill in missing contacts from a model. An order without consent stays “unattributed”, and the attribution rate tells you how much that amounts to.
Reach before consent
An anonymous count of page views before consent used to exist as a setting. It has been hidden since 29 September 2026: the script sends nothing before a decision, so the setting would no longer have measured anything.
Legal note
Section 25 TDDDG allows storing information on a device or reading it there, in principle, only with consent. The exception that could apply here covers only what is strictly necessary for a digital service the user has explicitly requested. In our assessment, an identifier that links advertising and orders does not fall under it. For a pure count of reach without access to the device there is a proposal (ADR 0008): a value the server forms from the address and browser details and discards daily. It is not built, and its legal assessment is still open; it could not attribute orders anyway, because the path to an order runs over several days. That orders without consent may count towards revenue for reconciliation rests on the legitimate interest in complete revenue figures. Other providers may assess their tools differently. This assessment does not replace legal advice.
Last reviewed on 13 Oct 2026
Also asked
- Can Metrunio measure without consent?
- Is Metrunio cookieless?
- Can I measure without a cookie banner?
- Is there a consent-free mode?
- Can I track without consent?
- Other tools measure without consent. Why not you?
- Is measuring without consent unlawful for other tools?
Related articles
- What happens without consent?
Is nothing really stored without consent?
By default, Metrunio stores nothing without matching consent, not even a raw event, and the tracking script sends nothing before a decision. One documented case differs: purchases and refunds your server reports without consent count towards measured revenue for revenue reconciliation, with their order number and without browser, customer or advertising identifiers, and are not attributed. After a refusal this only applies with an activated additional instruction. Without consent on the ad side, the click redirect passes on only the campaign, no click ID.
- What happens before consent?
Can I measure anonymously before consent?
The default is “block_all”: nothing is stored before consent, and the tracking script sends nothing. Anonymous reach measurement before consent has been hidden since 29 September 2026 and can no longer be selected: the script sends nothing before a decision anyway, so it would stay empty. If you had already enabled it, earlier figures remain visible under “Reach”.
- Does consent apply to server events too?
Do I need consent when I send server-side?
Yes, because server-side processing does not mean exemption from consent: pass consent_state and consent_purposes in the event; without matching consent an event is rejected. The exception is purchases and refunds with consent_state unknown: they are stored for revenue reconciliation, with their order number and without browser, customer or advertising identifiers, count towards measured revenue and appear as not attributed with the reason “No consent”. With denied this only applies if the additional instruction for revenue reconciliation is activated for your account. You can switch revenue reconciliation off in the portal under Privacy; such an order can only be attributed via the checkout, if you switch that on.
- Additional instruction for revenue reconciliation
When do orders count after a refusal in the cookie banner?
Orders your shop reports server-side after a refusal in the banner only count if the additional instruction for revenue reconciliation is activated for your account. You fill it in and sign it, and then we activate it; without it Metrunio rejects such orders. Orders with no decision in the banner at all count even without the instruction.
- Where does measurement end?
What are the limits of Metrunio’s measurement?
Post-view is only measurable where your own tags may be served and the browser returns the view identifier: not every served ad is viewable, and not every viewable one can be linked to the purchase. Without consent, gaps arise deliberately, and a gap stays a gap, not a zero. Attribution describes assignment, not causal advertising effect.
- Which metrics exist and how are they calculated?
How are ROAS, CPA and conversion rate derived?
Metrics come from measured quantities and, where attribution is involved, from the chosen model. Cost-based metrics require ad spend to have been imported or synced.