Google Ad Tags in Server-Side GTM Get Full IP Addresses: What Clinics and Multi-Location Brands Need to Decide

The short answer

Starting January 11, 2027, Google ad tags running in a server-side Google Tag Manager container will accept the full IP address of each visitor, according to a Google notice to advertisers reported by Search Engine Journal. The change covers tags that send data to Google Ads, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360. Google Analytics server tags keep their partial IP redaction. If you want your ad tags to keep receiving a partially redacted IP, Google documents a Transformation you can set up in the server container before the date.

Decide on purpose, write it down, and test it in Preview before January 11.

Why this matters more for clinics, dental groups and childcare brands

Healthcare groups, DSOs, pain clinics and childcare brands care a great deal about privacy and clean conversion data. Teams that moved their tags to a server container usually did it to control what leaves their site. This update changes one of those controls for ad tags.

Full IP addresses can help Google filter spam and invalid traffic, and Google says the update will improve campaign performance. At the same time, a visitor's IP address is personal data in many privacy frameworks, and a patient or parent visiting a location page is a sensitive visit for many brands. That makes this a business decision with your compliance team at the table, beyond a tagging setting.

The good news is the timeline. You have until January 11 to review your containers, choose a setting for each tag, and document the choice.

What Google's notice changes

The notice, titled "Updates to network signal processing in server-side tagging," says server containers "will transition from container-wide IP address redaction to individual tag-level processing." Search Engine Journal lists four effects:

The notice covers server containers only. Search Engine Journal reports it says nothing about the Google tag or web containers running in the browser, and Google's Tag Manager release notes had yet to mention the change as of November 3.

6 steps to get ready before January 11

1. Find every server container

Start with an inventory. Many multi-location brands run a server container per website or per brand, and some were set up by a past agency or developer. List each container, the sites it serves and who owns it.

2. Map which tags read the IP address

Inside each container, list the Google Ads conversion tags, Floodlight tags and third-party tags. Google's help page notes that many third-party templates read the IP from the standard `ip_override` field, while some read it from custom headers or event parameters. Use Tag Assistant or the vendor's documentation to confirm the field each tag uses.

3. Choose full or partially redacted IP, tag by tag

This is the decision Google is handing to advertisers. For each ad tag, decide whether it receives the full IP or a partially redacted IP. Bring in your privacy or compliance lead, especially for healthcare and dental locations, and record the reason for each choice. Our guide to Google Ads healthcare compliance and AI settings covers the wider settings review for regulated accounts.

4. Set up the redaction Transformation where you want it

Google's Tag Manager Help page, "IP address redaction for server-side tagging," lays out the steps:

1. 01In the server workspace, create a Custom Template Variable that calls Google's `getAnonymizedIpAddress` function.
2. 02Create an Augment event Transformation that overrides the `ip_override` field with that variable.
3. 03Under Matching Conditions or Affected Tags, select the tags that will receive the partially redacted IP, such as Google Ads or Floodlight.
4. 04For third-party tags that read a different field, add a Transformation that targets that field.

Google's server-side API reference says the function sets the last octet of an IPv4 address to zero and masks the last 80 bits of an IPv6 address.

5. Test in Preview, then publish

Google's help page recommends triggering your tags in Preview and confirming the IP is redacted before the data leaves the server. Then save the Transformation and publish the server container. Run the same check on one location page and one conversion page for every brand you manage.

6. Confirm conversions still record cleanly

Any change to a server container touches your measurement. After publishing, check that Google Ads conversions keep arriving at their usual pace for each location. Our Google Ads lead conversion tracking guide shows what a healthy setup looks like, and our offline conversion import guide covers the booked-visit data that matters most for bidding.

Review your consent setup at the same time

Google's notice says advertisers using its ad products "must ensure that proper end-user notices and legally required consents are in place before data collection begins." It also points EEA advertisers to Google's EU User Consent Policy, extended to end users in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and says advertisers in other regions with privacy rules must follow those regional requirements.

For U.S. healthcare, dental and childcare brands, that makes this a good moment to confirm three things with your compliance lead:

• Your privacy notice describes the data your ad tags collect, including IP addresses.
• Your consent banner and consent mode settings match what each tag receives.
• Your server container settings are documented, so the next person who edits them knows the reasoning.

Search Engine Journal notes the announcement leaves open how the change interacts with consent mode and how long full IP addresses are stored. Watch the Tag Manager release notes for an official update.

A simple review rhythm through January

1. 01This week: inventory every server container and its owner.
2. 02Next two weeks: map each tag's IP field and agree on full or redacted IP with compliance.
3. 03Early December: build Transformations, test in Preview and publish.
4. 04After publishing: compare conversions by location against the prior weeks.
5. 05January 11: confirm the setup once more and check the release notes for changes.

How SalesX approaches tracking changes like this

Every SalesX X-Audit maps the full lead path from the click to the booked visit, including how tags fire and what data each one sends. For healthcare and dental groups, we review conversion tracking, consent settings and AI features side by side, so a privacy update and a bidding signal get decided together. Our healthcare Google Ads team and dental Google Ads team build this review into every account.

A multi-location dental group (DSO) we partner with under NDA saw 40–50% more leads at the same ad spend within 60 days, and 80% of those leads became new patient visits.

The bottom line

Google is moving IP handling in server containers from one container-wide setting to a choice per tag. Treat it as a clear, scheduled decision: inventory your containers, agree on a setting with compliance, set up the Transformation where you want redaction, and test before January 11.

Sources and further reading

• Search Engine Journal, Google Ad Tags In Server-Side GTM To Get Full IP Addresses
• Tag Manager Help, IP address redaction for server-side tagging
• Google Tag Platform, Server-side tagging APIs (getAnonymizedIpAddress)
• Google Tag Platform, Server-side Transformations
• Tag Manager release notes

Related reading

• Google Ads Healthcare Compliance and AI Settings
• Google Ads Lead Conversion Tracking
• Google Ads Attribution for Lead Generation
• Offline Conversion Import
• Request a free X-Audit