Last updated: July 1, 2023
McDonald’s USA is committed to protecting the information of our customers. The below is meant to provide additional information regarding our privacy practices in the United States.
Children’s Privacy Notice
We do not knowingly collect personal information through our online services from children under the age of 13. We may offer certain features on our online services, such as games, coloring activities, and digital books, that children can use without providing any personal information. In the future, should we decide to collect personal information from children under 13 through our online services, we will do so in compliance with applicable law, including any notices to and obtaining any consents from parents or guardians that are required by law.
We urge parents to regularly monitor and supervise their children's online activities. If you have any questions about our children’s privacy practices, please contact us at:
Privacy at McDonald's, Dept. 282
110 North Carpenter Street
Chicago, IL 60607-2101, USA
contact.privacy@us.mcd.com
Notice of Financial Incentive
McDonald’s offers the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program. Generally speaking, MyMcDonald’s Rewards participants may receive rewards points for every dollar spent on qualifying purchases (as defined in the MyMcDonald’s Rewards Terms (USA) and via participation in periodic additional points-earning opportunities (such as bonus campaigns). Points may be accumulated and redeemed for purchases of eligible McDonald’s products. Participants may also receive other periodic rewards, such as exclusive offers and a treat during their birthday month. Participants may also receive personalized experiences, rewards or content connected to their use of the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program. The material terms of the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program are contained in the MyMcDonald’s Rewards Terms (USA). Participation in MyMcDonald’s Rewards is subject to those Terms, and we encourage you to read them prior to registering.
McDonald’s collects personal information in connection with providing the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program to consumers. This includes the following categories of personal information:
- Identifiers, such as participants’ name, email address, (optional) day and month of birth, and MyMcDonald’s Rewards account numbers;
- Personal information described in Cal. Civil Code § 1798.80(e), such as phone number and payment information (such as payment card details);
- Commercial information, such as records of members’ purchases, information about actions taken while using the McDonald’s app, and members’ rewards account credentials;
- Internet or other electronic network information reflecting a participants’ interaction with the McDonald’s app, in-restaurant technologies, or ads in connection with the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program;
- Geolocation data, which may be collected if participants enable their devices to collect their location (and which can be disabled at any time in device settings); and
- Inferences drawn from any of the above categories of information to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, or aptitudes.
McDonald’s may share this personal information with the categories of third parties listed in “How we share the information we collect.” We do not disclose personal information collected in connection with the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program to data brokers. We may disclose certain identifiers such as email addresses and pseudonymized identifiers, information about the use of our websites and apps, and inferences drawn about you to our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Under certain state laws, this may be considered a sale of personal information for consideration. We may also process and share this information for targeted advertising.
McDonald’s benefits financially from the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program through increased customer loyalty and sales, but we do not assign an independent monetary value to the personal information we collect in connection with the program. Further, the precise value each MyMcDonald’s Rewards member receives from the program can vary greatly by individual, and depends on (without limitation) (a) the number of dollars spent and points accumulated, (b) the rewards redeemed, (c) whether someone is a regular or occasional customer of McDonald’s, and (d) whether participants elect to collect points for in-restaurant purchases. Some benefits to participants may also be intangible, such as the ability to streamline the ordering and/or payment process.
In general, however, McDonald’s estimates in good faith that the value of the personal information that McDonald’s collects through the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program would be less than the value that the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program provides to consumers. To the extent McDonald’s calculates the value of the personal information it collects through MyMcDonald’s Rewards, it does so in good faith based on the expenses related to the collection and retention of personal information in connection with the program.
You are given the choice to opt in to the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program when you set up a MyMcDonald’s account. You may also opt in at any time in your profile settings in the McDonald’s app under “MyMcDonald’s Rewards”. You may withdraw from the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program at any time in your profile settings in the McDonald’s app under “MyMcDonald’s Rewards”. Please note that by withdrawing from MyMcDonald’s Rewards, you will no longer have access to MyMcDonald’s Rewards, but you can otherwise continue to use the McDonald’s app. All points and rewards you have earned until the time of withdrawal will no longer be available. If you request that McDonald’s delete your personal information, then the points and rewards you have earned will no longer be available because we will no longer be able to associate you with those points and rewards.
Notice to California residents under 18 years of age
If you are a registered user of online services under the age of 18, and we have actual knowledge of your age, then under California law you may request and obtain removal of certain content or information you have posted on our online services. To do so, please contact us at the address, phone number or email address below. Please note that removal does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content. For example, removal may not be possible or permitted if another provision of law requires the content to be maintained, if it was posted or reposted by others, or if we paid compensation to you in exchange for the posting.
Additional Notice for Consumers in Connecticut, Colorado, Utah, and Virginia
This part of our Privacy Statement applies to consumers who reside in the states of Connecticut, Colorado, Utah and Virginia.
- Targeted Advertising. Like many companies, McDonald’s processes personal information for targeted advertising. You can opt-out of targeted advertising by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance website or the Network Advertising Initiative website. You can also opt-out of targeted advertising by (a) clicking on Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information and submitting an opt-out request to us, and by (b) clicking on Cookie Settings on McDonald’s website and disabling cookies.
- Privacy Rights. Under applicable law, you may have the following rights, in each case under the conditions and to the extent set out in applicable law:
- Right of Access: A right to confirm whether McDonald’s is processing personal information about you, and to request to access such personal information (including, if applicable, in a portable and readily usable format).
- Right of Correction: A right to correct inaccuracies in certain personal information McDonald’s may hold about you; and
- Right of Deletion: A right to request that McDonald’s delete personal information concerning you. Please note that if you have requested a service that requires the use of your personal information, we may not be able to provide that service if you choose to delete your personal information.
If any of the above rights are available to you under applicable law, you can submit a request to exercise your rights by visiting the McDonald’s Privacy Rights Center.
If your rights request is denied, applicable law may give you a right to lodge an appeal with us. The response to your rights request will inform you of any appeal rights you may have, and tell you how you can exercise them.
Additional Notice for California Consumers
This part of our Privacy Statement applies to consumers who reside in the State of California.
1. Personal information we collect about California consumers
We describe the personal information we have collected about California consumers in the twelve (12) months preceding the “Last Updated” date of this Privacy Statement in the part titled, “Information we collect.” The information we have obtained includes the following:
- Identifiers such as name, postal and email addresses, internet protocol (IP) address, social media handles, username, password and other contact information used to register and access McDonald’s products and services, log-in to Wi-Fi, enter one of our competitions, or contact us by phone or through our online services. The following categories of personal information described in California Civil Code § 1798.80(e):
- the personal information listed in the preceding bullet point as “identifiers;”
- signatures;
- telephone number;
- payment information (including payment card details or online payment services number and invoicing address) and financial information (such as bank account numbers);
- physical characteristics or description; and
- the other information that identifies, relates to, describes, or is capable of being associated with, a particular individual that we describe in “Information we collect.”
- Commercial information, including
- records of products or services purchased or received from McDonald’s;
- username, password, or other account information used to obtain access to McDonald’s online services;
- information on actions taken on McDonald’s websites or mobile apps, which may include information about McDonald’s products or services considered and the times you visit our websites or use or mobile apps; and
- information about consumer preferences and behavior that we collect on our websites and mobile apps or purchase from third parties in order to target consumers for digital advertisements or to personalize content we deliver on our websites and mobile apps.
- Internet or other electronic network activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with an Internet Web site, application, or advertisement, as well as the information listed above in the section titled “Information we Collect:”
- computer or mobile-device operating system and browser type;
- type of mobile device and its settings;
- unique device identifier (UDID) or mobile equipment identifier (MEID) for your mobile device;
- device and component serial numbers;
- advertising identifiers (for example, IDFAs and IFAs) or similar identifiers;
- referring website (a site that has led you to ours) or application;
- online activity on other websites, applications or social media; and
- activity related to how you use our online services, such as the pages you visit on our sites or in our mobile apps.
- Geolocation data.
- Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law, such as demographic information like age or gender.
- Audio information from calls placed with customer service centers which may be recorded, and electronic information in the form of Internet or other electronic network activity information as described above. When you visit our restaurants, we may also capture video information via CCTV cameras that help us monitor restaurant safety.
- Inferences drawn from
- the information we collect when you visit our websites, use our apps, interact with our official social media pages, or otherwise interact with us;
- information we collect, including through third-party suppliers, regarding content and other data posted on the Internet (such as public locations on the Internet); and
- information about consumer preferences and behavior that we collect on our websites and mobile apps or purchase from third parties in order to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, or aptitudes.
- Sensitive personal information, such as account login credentials when combined with passwords, and precise geolocation data, as described above. If you win a competition, contest, prize draw, or sweepstakes, we may also collect your social security number and driver’s license or state identification card as part of legal compliance.
We collect this personal information directly from you when you provide information to us, for example, when registering for or using our online services, logging into Wi-Fi, using our in-restaurant digital channels, entering one of our competitions, or contacting us; from your computer system or mobile device when you use our online services, visit our restaurants, or use in-restaurant technologies; from other companies and organizations, such as our advertising agency partners, social media networks, data brokers, payment processors, and other providers and from publicly available sources. For more information, please review “Information we collect.”
2. Use of personal information
We use the personal information we collect about California consumers for the business purposes disclosed within our Privacy Statement. For more information, please review “How We Use the Information We Collect.”
The business purposes for which we may use personal information about California consumers include:
- Audits and reporting relating to particular transactions and interactions, including online interactions, you may have with us or others on our behalf, counting ad impressions to unique visitors, verifying positioning and quality of ad impressions, and auditing compliance;
- Helping to ensure security and integrity while using personal information as may be reasonably necessary and proportionate, including detecting and protecting against security incidents, and malicious, deceptive, fraudulent or illegal activity, and prosecuting the same;
- Debugging to identify and repair errors in our systems;
- Short-term, transient use including contextual customization of ads;
- Providing services on our behalf or on behalf of another, including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, fulfilling transactions, verifying identity information, processing payments, and other services. This includes:
- Conducting internal research to develop and demonstrate technology; and
- Conducting activity to verify, enhance, and maintain the quality or safety of services or devices which we may own, control, or provide.
We may also use the information we collect for our own or our service providers’ other operational purposes, purposes for which we provide you additional notice, purposes disclosed elsewhere in this Privacy Statement, or for purposes compatible with the context in which the personal information was collected.
We may de-identify personal information about you or receive de-identified personal information about you, and we may use and disclose such information for any purpose in accordance with applicable law. We will maintain de-identified information in de-identified form, and will not re-identify such information, except in accordance with the requirements of applicable law.
3. Disclosures of personal information
As is common practice among businesses that operate Internet websites and mobile apps, within the past 12 months, we may have shared certain identifiers such as email addresses and pseudonymized identifiers, information about the use of our websites and apps, and inferences drawn about you to our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. Under certain state laws, this may be considered to be a sale of personal information for consideration and/or the “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not disclose personal information of individuals we know to be under the age of 16 to other businesses or third parties for consideration or for cross-context behavioral advertising.
We have disclosed personal information in all or substantially all of the categories identified in this Additional Notice for California Consumers to members of the McDonald’s Family, vendors who provide services to us, in connection with a sale or transfer of all or part of our business, and as otherwise provided in “How we share the information we collect”.
4. Your California privacy rights
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights. We will honor requests received to the extent required by applicable law and within the time provided by law.
a. Right to Access, Right to Correction, and Right to Deletion
- Right to Access and Right to Know regarding Personal Information. You have the right to request that we disclose the following to you
- the categories of Personal Information we have collected about you;
- the categories of sources from which the Personal Information is collected;
- our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling Personal Information;
- the categories of third parties with whom we share Personal Information; and
- the specific pieces of information we have collected about you.
- the categories of personal information about you, if any, that we have disclosed for monetary or other valuable consideration and the categories of third parties to which we have disclosed the information, by category or categories of personal information for each third party to which we disclosed the personal information; and
- the categories of personal information about you that we disclosed for a business purpose.
- Right to Deletion of Personal Information. You have the right to request that we delete Personal Information about you that we have collected from you. Please note if you have requested a service that requires the use of your personal information, we may not be able to provide that service if you choose to delete your personal information.
- Right to Correct. You have the right to request that we correct personal information that we maintain about you that is inaccurate.
For requests made in connection with the Right of Access, Right to Know, Right to Correct, and/or Right of Deletion, please note:
- as required under applicable law, we must take steps to verify your request before we can provide personal information to you, correct or delete personal information, or otherwise process your request. To verify your request, you must provide your name, email address, and state of residence, and you may also have the option to provide you phone number. If we believe we need further information to verify your request as required by law, we may ask you to provide additional information to us.
- we will process your request within 45 days after receipt of a verifiable request, unless we notify you that we require additional time to respond, in which case we will respond within such additional period of time required by law. If your request involves us providing personal information to you, we may deliver the personal information to you through your account, if you maintain an account with McDonald’s, or electronically or by mail at your option. If electronically, then we will deliver the information to you or, if you so request and if permitted by law, to another entity, in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format that allows you to transmit the information from one entity to another without hindrance.
b. Right to Opt Out of Sales or Sharing. You have the right to opt out of the disclosure of personal information about you for consideration and the sharing of personal information about you for cross-context behavioral advertising. Select Do Not Sell My Info to be directed to an interactive form through which you may submit an online request to opt-out. To opt-out of collection of information by analytics, advertising, and social media partners, you can click on Cookie Settings on McDonald’s website and disable cookies. You can also visit the opt-out tools provided by the Network Advertising Alliance and the Digital Advertising Alliance.
Additionally, McDonald’s will process opt-out requests submitted by a consumer’s opt-out preference signal as required by applicable law. The technical specifications of a consumer’s opt-out preference signal determine how we process such signals. For example, if a consumer installs opt-out preference technology on a browser, and the opt-out preference signal it sends is associated solely with a user’s browser, the opt-out will be applied to the browser. As of the “Last Updated” date of this Privacy Statement, our processing of opt-out preference signals can be considered “frictionless” under California law.
You can learn how to set up and use an opt-out preference signal by visiting the California Attorney General’s CCPA page, and consulting the section titled “Requests not to Sell Personal Information (Right to Opt-Out of Sale).” You can also consult information published by the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) about how you can set up and use opt-out preference signals.
c. Sensitive Personal Information. McDonald’s does not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes that, under applicable law, require us to offer consumers a “Right to Limit” the use or disclosure of sensitive personal information.
d. Right to Non-Discrimination. We may not discriminate against you because of your exercise of any of the foregoing privacy rights, or any other rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, including by:
- Denying you goods or services;
- Charging different prices or rates for goods or services, including through the use of discounts or other benefits or imposing penalties;
- Providing you a different level or quality of goods or services; or
- Suggesting that you will receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.
We may, however, charge different prices or rates, or provide a different level or quality of goods or services, if that difference is reasonably related to the value provided to McDonald's by your personal information.
5. Requests to exercise your rights
You may request to exercise these rights by:
As required or permitted under applicable law, please note that we may take steps to verify your identity before granting you access to information or acting on your request to exercise your rights. We may limit our response to your exercise of the above rights as permitted under applicable law.
Metrics Regarding Privacy Requests
The following metrics relate to our handling of California rights requests in the period from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022.
Right to Know/Access
- Requests Received: 228
- Requests Completed: 221
- Requests Not Completed*: 7
- Median Number of Days to Complete: 35
Right to Delete
- Requests Received: 956
- Requests Completed: 790
- Requests Not Completed*: 166
- Median Number of Days to Complete: 16
Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing
- Requests Received: 4254
- Requests Completed: 4254
- Requests Not Completed*: 0
- Median Number of Days to Complete: 2
There were no instances of partial completion by McDonald’s.
*Requests may not be completed due to factors such as inability to verify the identity of the requestor, or because no personal information was found.
6. Agent Authorization
You may designate an authorized agent to request any of the above rights on your behalf. You may make such a designation by providing the agent with written permission, signed by you, to act on your behalf. Your agent may contact us as set forth below in “How to Contact McDonald’s USA” to make a request on your behalf. Even if you choose to use an agent, as permitted by law, we may require verification of the agent’s authorization to act on your behalf, require you to confirm you have authorized the agent to act on your behalf, or require you to verify your own identity.
7. Disability Accessibility
If you are a user with a disability, or an individual assisting a user with a disability, and have difficulty accessing or navigating our digital channels – including this Privacy Statement – please contact us at accessibility@us.mcd.com. You can also review our Accessibility Statement.
How to Contact McDonald’s USA
If you have privacy questions specific to McDonald’s USA, you can reach us at:
Privacy at McDonald's, Dept. 282
110 North Carpenter Street
Chicago, IL 60607-2101, USA
contact.privacy@us.mcd.com
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