You configured Google Consent Mode V2 before the July 2025 deadline. You updated your cookie banner. You thought you were done. But did you notice Microsoft quietly added their own consent requirement? As of October 31, 2025, Microsoft Clarity requires consent signals before tracking visitors from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland—and most WordPress sites using Clarity haven’t configured it.
If you’re using Clarity for heatmaps and session recordings without consent mode, your European visitor data is now at risk of being blocked entirely.
The Compliance Gap Nobody Mentioned
While everyone was scrambling to meet Google Consent Mode V2’s July 2025 enforcement deadline, Microsoft slipped in their own requirement with far less fanfare. From October 31, 2025, Microsoft Clarity requires consent signals in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland—mirroring the approach Google pioneered.
Here’s the problem: Clarity is used by millions of WordPress sites as a free alternative to Hotjar for heatmaps and session recordings. Most store owners installed it years ago, appreciated the free insights, and never thought about compliance. The tool was free, setup took minutes, and it just worked. But now there’s an enforcement mechanism—and ignorance isn’t a defense.
The timing made this easy to miss. Google’s July 2025 deadline dominated the conversation. By the time Microsoft’s October requirement landed, many store owners had already checked “consent compliance” off their list and moved on. They assumed the job was done.
Store owners who configured Google Consent Mode V2 often missed that Clarity needs separate consent signals. Google and Microsoft are different companies with different consent frameworks. Fixing one doesn’t fix the other. Each platform maintains its own compliance requirements, and each expects its own signals.
What Microsoft Clarity Consent Mode Actually Does
Microsoft Clarity Consent Mode is Microsoft’s consent framework requiring websites to signal user consent state before Clarity tracks visitors from regulated regions. It works similarly to Google Consent Mode V2—your consent banner communicates the visitor’s choice to Clarity, which then decides whether to record the session.
Without consent signals configured:
- Clarity may restrict your data collection: Sessions from EEA/UK/CH visitors get limited or excluded
- Session recordings may be blocked entirely: No heatmaps, no scroll data, no click tracking for European visitors
- You lose visibility into a significant audience segment: Depending on your traffic mix, this could be substantial
The requirement applies specifically to visitors from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Traffic from other regions remains unaffected—but if you serve European customers, you need to act.
Why Server-Side Tracking Can’t Help Here
If you’ve implemented server-side tracking for GA4 or Facebook CAPI, you might assume the same approach works for Clarity. It doesn’t.
Server-side tracking captures data on your server before it reaches browsers where ad blockers and privacy restrictions apply. That’s why tools like the Transmute Engine™ can recover data that client-side tracking loses—the data flows through your first-party server first.
But Microsoft Clarity is fundamentally different. Session recording is inherently client-side. Clarity needs to run JavaScript in the visitor’s browser to capture mouse movements, scroll depth, and click patterns. There’s no server-side alternative for watching how someone interacts with your page.
This means proper CMP configuration is your only option. You can’t work around Clarity’s consent requirement—you have to meet it directly.
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How to Fix Your Clarity Consent Mode Setup
The good news: most popular WordPress CMPs now support Microsoft Clarity consent mode. You likely just need to update your plugin and enable the setting. The entire fix takes about 10 minutes for most stores.
Step 1: Update Your CMP Plugin
If you’re using CookieYes, WebToffee GDPR, Complianz, or similar plugins, check for updates. Most WordPress CMP plugins only recently added Clarity consent mode support—if you haven’t updated since October 2025, you probably don’t have the feature yet.
Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins in your WordPress dashboard and look for available updates. Update your consent management plugin before proceeding to the next step.
Step 2: Enable Clarity Consent Mode
Look for Microsoft Clarity or “Clarity consent mode” in your CMP’s integration settings. The exact location varies by plugin:
- CookieYes: Check the Integrations or Third-Party Scripts section
- WebToffee GDPR: Look in Script Settings under Analytics integrations
- Complianz: Check the Integrations tab for Microsoft services
- Other CMPs: Search settings for “Clarity” or “Microsoft”
Enable the integration and configure it to require analytics consent before Clarity loads. The specific consent category varies by CMP—most use “Analytics” or “Statistics” as the relevant category.
Step 3: Verify the Signal Is Working
After enabling, test with your browser’s developer tools. Open your site in an incognito window and watch the Network tab. Clarity should only initialize after consent is granted for analytics purposes. If you see Clarity loading before your cookie banner appears or before you’ve accepted cookies, the integration isn’t working correctly.
You can also use Microsoft’s Clarity dashboard to verify—check if sessions from EEA regions are being recorded after implementing consent mode. A sudden drop in European sessions before the fix followed by recovery after indicates the integration is working.
You may be interested in: Stop Apologizing for Cookies: A Better Approach to Consent Communication
Complete Your Consent Stack
If you use both Google tools and Microsoft Clarity, you need consent signals for both. They’re separate systems that don’t communicate with each other.
Think of it this way: You wouldn’t assume that filing taxes in one country covers you in another. Same principle. Google Consent Mode V2 tells Google about consent. Clarity consent mode tells Microsoft. Both need configuration.
For server-side tracking destinations like GA4 and Facebook CAPI, tools like Transmute Engine™ can recover data lost to browser restrictions. But for client-side tools like Clarity that must run in the browser, proper CMP configuration is the only path to compliance.
Key Takeaways
- Microsoft Clarity consent mode became mandatory October 31, 2025 for EEA, UK, and Switzerland visitors
- This is separate from Google Consent Mode V2—fixing one doesn’t fix the other
- Server-side tracking can’t help—Clarity is inherently client-side, requiring browser JavaScript
- Most CMPs now support Clarity consent mode—update your plugin and enable the setting
- Non-compliance means restricted or blocked data for your European visitors
No. As of October 31, 2025, Microsoft requires consent signals before tracking visitors from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland. Without consent mode configured, Clarity will either restrict your data or block session recordings entirely for these visitors.
Most popular WordPress CMPs including CookieYes and WebToffee GDPR now support Clarity consent mode, but you may need to update your plugin to the latest version. Check your CMP’s settings for Microsoft Clarity or Clarity consent mode options.
No. Unlike GA4 or Facebook where server-side tracking captures data before browser restrictions apply, Microsoft Clarity is inherently client-side. It records user sessions in the browser, so proper consent banner configuration is the only solution.
For visitors from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, Clarity will restrict your data collection or block session recordings entirely. You’ll lose visibility into how a significant portion of your European visitors interact with your site.
Check your Clarity consent mode configuration today at seresa.io.
