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What is TCF & GPP?

Also known as: Transparency and Consent Framework, Global Privacy Platform

Quick definition

IAB Europe's TCF and IAB Tech Lab's GPP are frameworks that encode a user's privacy choices into a standardized string passed through the ad chain, so every vendor can tell whether it has a legal basis to process data in that jurisdiction.

Key points

TCF
Focused on EU/EEA GDPR; CMPs generate a TC string listing purposes and vendor consents.
GPP
A container string that carries multiple regional signals (e.g. US state laws, TCF) in one field.

Benefits

  • Common language for consent across thousands of vendors

Trade-offs

  • Regulatory scrutiny over whether consent is valid
  • Lower consent rates reduce addressability

FAQ

Where is the consent string sent in OpenRTB?

In the regs and user objects (e.g. regs.gdpr, user.consent, regs.gpp and regs.gpp_sid).

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Official sources

Last reviewed 2026-10-27. Explanations are written by AdTech Radar; consult the official specification for implementation.