Webmasters and people using the new UI version of the Google Tag Manager (GTM) are having issues turning off the Preview/Debug mode. This can be very annoying as it activates the pane in every web page that you visit that are connected to your account if you are logged in to your GTM account.
You are fortunate if you are using Google Chrome browser as this can be easily turned off. However, if you happen to be using a different browser, like for instance the cool Brave browser, at that moment (as most of us have the tendency to use multiple browsers, or maybe it’s just me?), then that’s when it gets a little trickier.
Some users have tried countless times to “leave” the preview mode in Google Tag Manager but nothing seem happen. They just can’t find a way to turn off the preview mode. Some have even tried publishing the latest version of their GTM container, but still it doesn’t do the trick.
In the old version of Google Tag Manager, when the debug mode is enabled, a callout link would appear on the top of every GTM page that will allow you to exit debug mode without leaving the page. However, this is not the case with the new GTM UI layout.
So, how do you turn off Google Tag Manager preview mode, if you are using Brave browser. This also applies to Firefox, Opera, Microsoft Edge and Safari.
Method 1 – Delete a 3rd Party Cookie
Google Tag Manager Preview and Debug mode uses a 3rd party cookie to display the console in the pages that you are testing. Everytime you click the Preview button in the upper right corner of your GTM interface, you’ll be temporarily redirected to www.googletagmanager.com so that a 3rd party cookie (www.googletagmanager.com) will be stored on your browser.
Once this cookie is active in your browser, Google Tag Manager knows that you have enabled the preview mode. It will automatically show the debug console at the footer when you load a page.
Knowing how Google Tag Manager debug preview mode works, we can easily turn it off by going to your browser’s 3rd party cookie list and delete the ones that belong to www.googletagmanager.com.
Method 2 – Use Da Vinci Tools Chrome Extension
If you’re using Chroumium-based browsers like Brave, Opera or Microsoft Edge, you can always install a Chrome Extension called Da Vinci Tools (you can look online on how to install Chrome extensions to these browsers). The extension enhances the GTM UI with clean and useful features including an Exit Preview button added to the preview and debug console.
Get the extension here.
Conclusion
That’s all you need to know in order to hide or exit Google Tag Manager preview/debug mode in Brave and other browsers including Chrome. If you still get issues related to this or maybe you have some more questions, please let us know in the comments section below.
