Google has begun notifying advertisers that it will start using IP addresses for ad measurement and personalization across the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK and Switzerland on or shortly after August 3, 2026.
IP addresses are received by online services on nearly every request, and the practice is routine across much of the world. But doing it in the UK and EU, where an IP address is regulated personal data, is new.
What's changing
Google already receives these IP addresses to route traffic and deliver ads, through customer tags, SDKs, HTTP calls and uploads.
What changes on August 3 is the purpose: the same addresses will be used to identify devices for measurement and ad personalization, which is the use that triggers consent requirements under UK and EU law.
