Install troubleshooting
Most install problems come down to where the snippet loads. Start with the symptom that matches yours.
The banner does not show
Work through these in order.
Only the GTM noscript tag is installed
If you installed OptSens through Google Tag Manager and added only the
<noscript> tag, the banner never loads. The <noscript> fragment runs
only when JavaScript is off. The head loader is what actually loads the
banner.
Fix: add the direct first-party snippet in <head>, above your Google
tags. See Direct snippet. Keep GTM for your
consent-gated tags.
The banner is delivered only through GTM
Safari Private Browsing blocks googletagmanager.com. A banner delivered
only through Google Tag Manager does not load there, which leaves visitors
in private mode with no consent prompt.
Fix: install the OptSens snippet as a direct first-party <script> in
<head>, before your Google tags. Use GTM only for the tags you gate on
consent. See Google Tag Manager.
The snippet is missing or in the wrong place
The script must be first-party in <head>, before any Google or marketing
tags, and present once.
Fix: confirm the snippet is the first script in <head>, that
YOUR_DOMAIN_ID is your real Domain ID from the Integration page, and
that it is not duplicated. Do not add async or defer. If you added
the snippet recently, clear your site and CDN cache, then view the source
of the live page and confirm the tag is present.
An ad blocker is hiding it
Some ad blockers and privacy extensions hide consent banners.
Fix: test in a fresh private window with extensions disabled. If the banner shows there, an extension is the cause, not your install.
Consent was already given
The banner does not reappear once a visitor has chosen, for the length of the consent lifetime.
Fix: test in a private or incognito window, or clear site data, to get a fresh first visit.
The implementation check reports an error
Run the check from the dashboard Integration page. These are the common results and what to do.
| Message | Fix |
|---|---|
| OptSens snippet not found on the page | Confirm the script tag is in <head> and published live. |
| Could not reach the site | Check the domain URL is correct and the site is online. |
| Site returned a redirect | Point the domain URL directly at your live page, not a redirect. |
| Request timed out | The site did not respond within 10 seconds. Retry, and check it is not blocking requests. |
| Too many checks for this domain | Each domain can be checked up to 5 times per hour. Wait and retry. |
If the banner shows in your browser but the check reports the snippet was
not found, the tag is being injected by JavaScript, for example through a
tag manager or a client-side code-injection app. The check reads the page
HTML as the server returns it. Add the snippet directly to the <head>
template instead.
A scan comes back empty or incomplete
If a cookie scan or the implementation check finds nothing, a firewall or bot protection is most likely serving our scanner a challenge page instead of your site. Cloudflare, a WAF, Turnstile or reCAPTCHA can all do this.
Fix: allow our scanner, OptSensBot, through your protection. See OptSensBot for Cloudflare allow rules, the user-agent token and the published address list. Then run the scan again.
Banner shows but tags still fire before consent
If tracking loads before the visitor consents, the tags are not gated.
Fix: make sure automatic cookie blocking is on in your privacy settings, or tag your scripts for OptSens to manage. See Auto-blocking and Manual tagging. If you fire tags through GTM, gate them with Consent Mode v2. See Consent Mode v2.
Still stuck
Open the console and run OptSens.debug() to see the current state, then
see Debugging. If the problem remains, write
to support@optsens.com with your domain and
what you have tried.