Does contextual advertising from GumGum require consent?

Yes. Although GumGum targets ads by page content rather than user behavior, its scripts still set cookies for frequency capping, fire impression tracking beacons, and may execute cookie sync pixels with DSPs. The ePrivacy Directive requires consent for any device storage used in advertising — contextual targeting does not exempt cookie use.

What cookies and tracking does GumGum deploy?

GumGum sets gg_tk (persistent frequency capping and ad delivery token, ~1 year) and gg_session (session-scoped ad identifier). Impression beacons fire to beacon.gumgum.com when ad units enter the viewport. Cookie sync pixels may map GumGum identifiers to third-party DSP systems even in contextual-only campaigns.

How does ConsentStack treat GumGum on publisher sites?

ConsentStack assigns GumGum to the marketing consent category and blocks its scripts until the visitor consents. ConsentStack maps GumGum to IAB TCF Purposes 1, 2, and 7, ensuring it is surfaced correctly in consent UIs for publishers using TCF-compliant consent management. No GumGum scripts fire without prior consent.

What tracker domains does GumGum use?

ConsentStack has catalogued tracker domains for GumGum including gumgum.com. These are the network destinations GumGum's scripts contact, which a consent platform blocks until a visitor agrees.

GumGum - Contextual Ad Network Consent & Privacy Info

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Overview

GumGum is a contextual advertising technology company specializing in in-image, in-screen, and in-article ad placements. Unlike behavioral advertising platforms, GumGum's core differentiator is computer vision-based contextual targeting: its technology analyzes the images and text on a page to infer contextual relevance, then serves ads that match the page content rather than the user's browsing history. GumGum primarily serves publishers seeking to monetize ad inventory and is a member of the IAB and a registered vendor on the IAB TCF Vendor List.

What This Script Does

Contextual Analysis

Scans page text and image content using GumGum's contextual intelligence engine (Verity) to classify the page topic and sentiment
Determines contextual targeting segments (e.g., "sports", "technology", "finance") without building individual user behavioral profiles
Content analysis requests are made to GumGum's classification endpoints

Ad Unit Rendering

Renders in-image ad overlays on editorial photographs on the page
Renders in-screen (viewable) ad units that appear as visitors scroll
Renders in-article ad placements between paragraphs in long-form content
Ad creative assets loaded from GumGum CDN at g2.gumgum.com and participating DSP delivery URLs

Script Files and CDN Domains

Primary tag: https://js.gumgum.com/gumgum.js
Ad serving: g2.gumgum.com, sac.gumgum.com
Impression and click tracking: beacon.gumgum.com

Cookies Set

gg_tk — GumGum's user token for frequency capping and basic ad delivery; first-party context or third-party depending on integration; persistent, ~1 year
gg_session — session-scoped ad delivery identifier
DSP sync pixels: GumGum may fire cookie sync pixels to participating demand-side platforms, creating cross-domain identifier mappings even in a contextual-only campaign context
IAB TCF purposes: Purpose 1 (Store and/or access information on a device), Purpose 2 (Basic ads), Purpose 7 (Measure ad performance)

Impression and Conversion Tracking

Fires impression beacons to beacon.gumgum.com when ad units enter the viewport
Records click events and click-through destinations
Sends viewability metrics (time in view, % visible) to GumGum's reporting infrastructure

Consent & Compliance

Consent category: Marketing

Despite GumGum's emphasis on contextual rather than behavioral targeting, its ad delivery infrastructure still sets cookies for frequency capping, fires impression tracking pixels, and may execute cookie sync operations with third-party DSPs. Under the ePrivacy Directive, any storage of or access to information on a user's device for advertising purposes requires prior consent — the contextual nature of the targeting does not exempt the cookie storage. GumGum participates in the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF v2.x) as a registered vendor, reflecting the consensus that consent is required. Under GDPR Article 6 and the ePrivacy Directive, GumGum must obtain TCF consent for Purposes 1, 2, and 7 before loading.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

Yes. GumGum scripts serve advertisements and set cookies for ad delivery, frequency capping, and measurement. Even with contextual targeting, the ad-serving infrastructure requires ePrivacy consent. Block until the visitor grants consent for advertising/marketing cookies (IAB TCF Purpose 1 at minimum).

Is GumGum GDPR compliant?

GumGum typically loads marketing trackers, which are not strictly necessary for your site to work. Under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, non-essential cookies and trackers must stay blocked until a visitor gives clear opt-in consent. So GumGum can be fully GDPR compliant, but only if your site holds its scripts until consent is granted and lets visitors decline just as easily. Compliance depends on how your site loads GumGum, not on GumGum itself.

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Consent Categories

Marketing

Also Known As

gumgum advertisinggumgum contextual adsgumgum GDPRin-image advertising consentgumgum cookiescontextual advertising privacy

Industries

Marketing and AdvertisingBusiness and Consumer Services

Tracked Domains (1)

GumGum's trackers are common, seen on about 8% of the sites ConsentStack has scanned. Scan your own site to see which of these are firing before consent.

gumgum.comMarketing

gumgum.com is a marketing domain operated by GumGum, used to serve ads, build audiences, and measure ad conversions. Seen on about 8% of scanned sites.