Google email: Ads tags in server-side GTM get full IP addresses from 11 January 2027

Google has told advertisers that from 11 January 2027, server-side Google Tag Manager containers will stop redacting IP addresses at the container level and switch to tag-level processing, so tags that send data to Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360 will receive the full visitor IP address unless the container owner redacts it. Google Analytics tags keep redacting. The date and these rules come from Google's email to advertisers, as reported by Search Engine Journal and PPC Land after Google Ads freelancer Adriaan Dekker posted the email on LinkedIn on 2 November 2026. The email does not name its opt-out page. Search Engine Journal identified a Google Tag Manager Help article, IP address redaction for server-side tagging, that documents the redaction method; that Help page does not mention the 11 January date.

What Google's notice says will change on 11 January 2027

The email is titled "Updates to network signal processing in server-side tagging". According to the copies reported by Search Engine Journal on 3 November and PPC Land on 2 November, it says server containers will move from container-wide IP address redaction to individual tag-level processing, starting 11 January 2027. It then lists four effects.

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

Google gives a reason for the change in the same email. It says the update brings in privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), keeps data quality up through spam and invalid traffic filtering, and improves campaign performance. PPC Land noted that no figure, test result or named technology accompanies those claims, and that the email does not define the phrase "network signals" beyond giving the IP address as its only example.

The key word for advertisers is default. Google describes redaction after 11 January as an opt-out. A container whose owner does nothing will start passing full IP addresses to those four advertising products on that date.

Which tags are affected and which are not

The change applies only to server containers. Search Engine Journal noted that the notice says nothing about web containers or the Google tag running in the browser. Inside a server container, the split falls along product lines, as the table below sets out from the email and the Tag Manager Help page.

PPC Land describes Campaign Manager 360 as the home of Floodlight measurement, and the Help page names Floodlight tags alongside Google Ads tags as examples of tags that can receive the partially redacted IP.

How to keep IP addresses redacted: the steps on the Help page

The Tag Manager Help article describes the opt-out as a Transformation that rewrites the IP field before the selected tags read it. For Google tags, the steps are:

1. Open the server workspace in Google Tag Manager.
2. Under Variables, create a new Custom Template Variable whose code requires and returns the getAnonymizedIpAddress function.
3. Under Transformations, create a new Augment event transformation and set it to override the ip_override field, mapped to that variable.
4. Under Matching Conditions or Affected Tags, choose the tags that should receive the partially redacted IP, for example Google Ads, Floodlight or non-Google tags.
5. Use Preview, fire the tags and confirm the IP address is redacted before data leaves the server.
6. Save the transformation and publish the server container.

The page notes that Google Analytics server tags already apply partial IP redaction by default.

Third-party tags need their own check

The Help page says many major third-party tag templates read the visitor IP from the standard ip_override field, and in that case the transformation built for Google tags also covers them. It also warns that not every vendor works this way. Some tags pull the IP from custom headers or specific event parameters. For those, the page tells owners to check the vendor documentation or inspect requests in Tag Assistant, find the exact field the tag uses, and build a second Augment event transformation that overrides that custom field with the same anonymisation variable, scoped to that tag only, then preview and publish.

What the redaction function actually does

Google's server-side tagging API reference, last updated 30 October 2026, says getAnonymizedIpAddress masks the last octet of an IPv4 address to 0 and the last 80 bits of an IPv6 address to zeros. Search Engine Journal found that the function was absent from the Internet Archive's 12 October capture of that reference page. The Help page itself calls the output a "partially redacted IP". In plain terms, an address such as 203.0.113.25 would leave the server as 203.0.113.0.

Consent duties Google places on the advertiser

The email ties the new processing to the advertiser's own compliance. According to both trade reports, it says advertisers using Google's advertising products must make sure proper end-user notices and legally required consents are in place before data collection begins. Advertisers in the European Economic Area must follow Google's EU User Consent Policy, which PPC Land notes also covers end users in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Customers elsewhere must follow local privacy laws and platform terms.

PPC Land noted that the email places the duty to have legally required consents in place on the customer, not on Google.

What Google has not said

Both trade publications flagged open questions, and none of them is answered on the Help page as of 4 November 2026.

• Release notes: Search Engine Journal found no Tag Manager release-note entry on the change as of 3 November. PPC Land said the latest entry was dated 12 October 2026, and the release notes page still showed that as the latest entry on 4 November.
• Consent mode: the email does not explain how tag-level IP processing interacts with consent mode. Server containers have carried consent-denied traffic since 28 July 2025, when Floodlight tags in server-side Tag Manager began sending unconsented requests server-to-server for modelled conversions, according to the release notes cited by PPC Land. Whether those requests will carry the full IP after 11 January is not stated.
• Storage: Search Engine Journal noted no mention of where full IP addresses are stored or for how long.
• Scope of "network signals": the IP address is the only example given.
• The exact opt-out link: the email points to a Help Centre article for opt-out instructions without naming it. Search Engine Journal identified the page linked in this article as documenting the method. PPC Land, writing a day earlier, left open whether the opt-out is a container setting, a per-tag switch or a Transformation.

Context: the default runs the other way from AdSense

PPC Land contrasted the change with AdSense. When AdSense added a "Share full IP address" control on 1 June 2026, full sharing was off by default and bid requests carried a truncated address unless a publisher changed the setting. The server-side Tag Manager change starts switched on. PPC Land also recorded that server-side Tag Manager has been able to redact or anonymise IPs through Google Analytics server tags since March 2021, and that Transformations arrived in server containers on 7 June 2023.

Analysis: who should act before 11 January

This section is Relevant Audience's reading of the sourced facts, not a statement from Google.

The group most affected is any advertiser that moved Google Ads or Floodlight tags into a server container partly to limit what reached Google's ad systems. For them, the container-level setting they relied on stops covering those tags on a fixed date, and keeping the current behaviour now means building a Transformation. Advertisers that run server-side tagging only for Google Analytics are less exposed, because Analytics tags keep redacting. Advertisers that never adopted server-side Tag Manager are outside the change as described, since it is limited to server containers.

The decision has two sides. Google's case is better measurement, personalisation and invalid-traffic filtering. The case for redaction is control over personal data and alignment with whatever the business has promised users in its privacy notice. Neither choice is wrong by default; what matters is that it is made on purpose and documented, rather than happening because nobody opened the container before January.

What to check in your account

• List every server container you run and every tag inside it that sends data to Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360 or Campaign Manager 360, including Floodlight and Google Ads conversion tags.
• For each third-party tag, confirm whether it reads ip_override or a custom header or parameter, using vendor documentation or Tag Assistant as the Help page suggests.
• Decide per tag whether it should receive a full or partially redacted IP, then build and preview the Transformations before 11 January 2027.
• Re-read the privacy notice and consent wording on your sites to confirm they cover IP-based processing by these ad products.
• Watch the Tag Manager release notes for an official entry that might add detail on consent mode or storage.

What this means for Thai marketers

Google's notice applies globally to server-side Tag Manager containers, and it does not single out Thailand. Its instruction for regions outside the EEA is that customers comply with local privacy laws and platform terms. Thailand's main personal data law is the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). How the PDPA applies to IP addresses collected through a particular container setup, and what notice or consent basis is needed, is a question for the business's legal adviser; this article does not offer a legal view on it.

The practical step is the same either way. Thai e-commerce and lead-generation advertisers who run server containers for Google Ads conversion tracking should audit the container now, decide tag by tag, and make sure the privacy notice reflects that decision. Teams that set up server-side tagging alongside their GA4 implementation should note that the Analytics tags are unaffected, while the ad tags in the same container are not. Retailers using server-side tracking to protect e-commerce campaign measurement should include Floodlight and any third-party tags in the same review.

FAQ: server-side Tag Manager and full IP addresses

When does the IP change in server-side Tag Manager take effect?

It takes effect on 11 January 2027, according to Google's email to advertisers as reported by Search Engine Journal and PPC Land. The email itself carries no issue date, and Google had not posted a release-note entry as of 3 November 2026.

Do I have to do anything?

Only if you want Google ad tags in your server container to keep receiving a redacted IP address. According to Google's email, without action Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360 tags will accept the full IP from 11 January 2027. To keep redaction, build the Augment event Transformation described on the Tag Manager Help page.

Are Google Analytics tags affected?

No, Google says Google Analytics tags will continue to apply IP redaction. The Help page adds that Analytics server tags already apply partial redaction by default.

Does this change apply to web containers or the Google tag in the browser?

The notice covers server containers only. Search Engine Journal reported that it says nothing about web containers or the browser-side Google tag.

Is this live or relevant in Thailand?

Yes, the change is not limited by country in Google's notice, so server containers used by Thai advertisers fall under it from 11 January 2027. Google tells customers outside the EEA to follow local privacy laws and platform terms, which in Thailand means checking the position under the PDPA with a legal adviser.

Server-side tagging decisions affect both measurement quality and privacy compliance, and the January date leaves about two months to review containers. If you want a second pair of eyes on your server container and Google Ads conversion setup before then, Relevant Audience's Google Ads team can help.