Short answer: A Consent Manager is a person registered with the Data Protection Board that lets users give, manage, review and withdraw consent through one platform (s.2(g)). Registration under s.6(9) and Rule 4 starts on 13 November 2026, ahead of the main obligations on 13 May 2027. Using a Consent Manager is optional for the user (s.6(7)).
What is a Consent Manager under the DPDP Act?
A Consent Manager is a person registered with the Board who acts as a single point of contact for a Data Principal to give, manage, review and withdraw her consent through an accessible, transparent and interoperable platform (s.2(g)).
The Act's definition requires the platform to be "accessible, transparent and interoperable" (s.2(g)).
- Registration: Consent Managers must be registered with the Board (s.6(9)), under the conditions in Rule 4.
- Board oversight: the Board's powers over Consent Managers sit in s.27(1)(d).
- Grievances: a Consent Manager must provide grievance redressal and respond within a published period not exceeding 90 days, like a Data Fiduciary (s.13, Rule 14(3)).
When do the Consent Manager rules start?
The registration provisions start on 13 November 2026, one year after the Rules were notified, while the consent duties that apps must meet start on 13 May 2027 (G.S.R. 843(E), Rule 1(3), Rule 1(4)).
| Date | What takes effect | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 13 November 2025 | Act definitions (including s.2(g)) and Board provisions; Board established | G.S.R. 843(E), G.S.R. 844(E) |
| 13 November 2026 | s.6(9) registration of Consent Managers; s.27(1)(d) Board powers over them; Rule 4 | G.S.R. 843(E), Rule 1(3) |
| 13 May 2027 | s.6(7) consent through a Consent Manager, and the rest of s.6; Rule 14 grievance timelines | G.S.R. 843(E), Rule 1(4) |
Some secondary sources give 14 November 2026, because the e-Gazette upload of the Rules is dated 14 November 2025. MeitY's own Lok Sabha answer uses 13 November 2025 as the date of the Rules.
Do apps have to integrate with a Consent Manager?
Not on the face of the Act. Section 6(7) says a user may use a Consent Manager, so it is an option for the user rather than a requirement.
- Interpretation: because use is optional for the user, an app will generally still need its own notice and consent flow for users who do not use a Consent Manager. The Act does not expressly say whether an app must accept consent routed through one, so watch for guidance from the Board.
- The consent standard is the same whichever route is used: free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous (s.6(1)). See consent.
How many Consent Managers are registered?
None had been reported. In its Lok Sabha answer of 12 August 2026, MeitY gave no figures for Consent Manager registrations, and reported only that the recruitment advertisement for Board members had been published in Employment News on 6 June 2026. No Gazette notification appointing a Chairperson or Member had been found as of 21 October 2026, according to a LiveLaw report.
- The Board's composition is itself an open question. G.S.R. 845(E) says the Board will consist of four members, while MeitY's circular of 6 May 2026 invited applications for one Chairperson and four Members.
How does a Consent Manager affect withdrawal and grievances?
- Withdrawal: withdrawal through any route must be as easy as giving consent (s.6(4)). On withdrawal, the app must stop processing, and cause its processors to stop, within a reasonable time (s.6(6)).
- Grievances: the user must exhaust the grievance route of the Data Fiduciary or Consent Manager before going to the Board (s.13).
- Records: where consent is the basis, the burden of proving notice and consent stays with the app (s.6(10)).
What this means for your app
These are practical steps teams commonly consider. They are not a guarantee of compliance.
- Consider designing your consent records so they could accept and reflect consent events from an external source, such as a Consent Manager, without rebuilding the system.
- A common approach is to keep your own in-app consent flow as the default, since users are not required to use a Consent Manager.
- Make sure a withdrawal received through any channel stops processing in your app and at your vendors. See processors and SDKs.
- Watch the timeline for the first registrations and any Board guidance after 13 November 2026.
- Confirm details against the official texts on the sources page.