Privacy (Updated)
MCDONALD’S PRIVACY STATEMENT
Effective Date: February 2018
At McDonald’s, we respect your concerns about privacy. This Privacy Statement (“Statement”) describes the personal information practices of McDonald’s with respect to information about our customers and others who visit our restaurants, Web sites and mobile apps, including the types of personal information we collect, how we may use this information, and with whom we may share it.
- 1. Information We Collect
We may collect personal information about you when you visit one of our restaurants, use McDonald’s Web sites (“Sites”), or use our web or mobile device applications (“Mobile Apps”). We refer to our Sites and Apps collectively as “Online Services”.
The types of personal information we collect may include:
- Transaction information, such as product purchased, price, method of payment and payment details.
- Personal details such as name, postal address, email address, phone number, date of birth and other contact information when you provide that information to us, such as if you register with our Online Services or enter a McDonald’s contest, competition, prize draw, or promotion.
- Account information, such as username, password, and other identifiers or credentials used to access our Online Services or to acquire McDonald’s products and services.
- Other personal information you choose to provide when you interact with McDonald’s.
The circumstances in which you provide personal information may include when you:
- purchase products at our restaurants;
- register to use our Online Services;
- request to receive marketing or other communications;
- use our Wi-Fi networks, kiosks or other in-store technologies;
- enter in one of our contests, competitions, prize draws, or promotion;
- submit information when providing feedback; or
- use interactive features of our Online Services.
Information Collected Through Automated Means
We may collect information from your computer system or mobile device through automated technologies when you visit our restaurants or use our Online Services or in-restaurant technologies. These automated technologies may include cookies, local shared objects, and web beacons. Additional information regarding the use of cookies and other automated technologies is provided in this Statement below. The information we collect may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address; computer/mobile device operating system and browser type; type of mobile device; mobile device settings; the unique device identifier (UDID) or mobile equipment identifier (MEID) for your mobile device; device and component serial numbers; advertising identifier (e.g., IDFAs and IFAs) or similar identifier; the referring website or application; the linked sites, third-party websites, applications or social media where you share Online Services content; and activity related to your use of our Online Services such as the pages you visit on our Sites or in our Mobile Apps.
The providers of third-party apps, tools, widgets and plug-ins on our Online Services, such as Facebook "Like" buttons, also may use automated means to collect information regarding your interactions with these features. This information is subject to the privacy policies or notices of these providers.
Location Information
McDonald’s Online Services and in-restaurant technologies may collect precise information about the location of your mobile device or computer using Geolocation and location presence awareness technologies such as GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cell tower proximity. For most mobile devices and computer systems, you are able to withdraw your permission for McDonald’s to acquire this information on your location through the device or Web browser settings. If you have questions about how to disable collection of precise location information, we recommend you contact your mobile device service provider, the device manufacturer, or your Web browser provider. Please note that certain Online Services and in-restaurant technologies may not function properly without precise location information. If you would like us to delete location information we have collected that is identifiable to you, please contact us at the email or postal address listed below. Please note that we may be required by law to retain certain information.
Combined Information
We may combine personal information that we collect with information we receive from other sources, information about your prior transactions with McDonald’s and information that is automatically collected.
2. How We Use the Information We Collect
McDonald’s may use the personal information we collect to:
- fulfill your requests or orders and process payments for our products and services;
- if you give us permission, communicate with you about products and services of McDonald’s or our business partners that we believe may interest you;
- communicate with you about and administer your participation in contests, competitions, prize draws, offers, promotions or special events;
- send communications to you about your orders, purchases or accounts with McDonald’s;
- send information to your contacts if you request us to do so;
- provide customer support, respond to, and communicate with you about your requests, questions and comments;
- enable you to post on our blogs and interact with McDonald’s through social media;
- personalize your experience on our Online Services and in-restaurant technologies, such as providing you with content in which you may be interested, and making navigation to our Sites and Mobile Apps easier;
- perform data analytics, including consumer research, trend analysis, and financial analysis;
- operate, evaluate and improve our business, including the development of new products and services; determination of the effectiveness of our sales, marketing and advertising efforts; and analysis and improvement of our products, offers, promotions, and Online Services and other technologies;
- protect against, identify and prevent fraud and other criminal activity, claims and other liabilities; and
- comply with applicable law.
We use automated information for purposes such as to
(i) personalize the visitor experience in our restaurants or on our Online Services,
(ii) deliver content (including advertising) tailored to our users' interests and the manner in which our users browse our Online Services or in-restaurant technologies, and
(iii) manage our business. We also use this information to help diagnose technical and service problems; administer our Online Services; identify users of our Online Services; identify a device for fraud prevention purposes, to target advertising or to personalize users’ experiences; and gather demographic information about our users. We also use automated information to determine usage patterns and how we may tailor our Online Services to better meet the needs of our users.
We may use the information we obtain about you in other ways for which we provide specific notice at the time of collection.
3. How We Share the Personal Information We Collect
McDonald’s does not sell or otherwise share personal information about you, except as described in this Privacy Statement.
McDonald’s may share personal information within the McDonald’s Family. The McDonald’s Family includes McDonald’s Corporation, its affiliates, subsidiaries, suppliers, vendors, and franchisees. Members of the McDonald’s Family that receive this information from McDonald’s are not authorized to use or disclose the information except as provided in this Privacy Statement.
McDonald’s may share personal information with vendors that provide services to McDonald’s, such as fulfilling orders, providing data processing and other information technology services, administering promotions, contests, prize draws, conducting research and performing analytics, and personalizing individual McDonald’s experiences. We do not authorize these vendors to use the personal information or to disclose it for any purpose other than to perform services on our behalf.
Circumstances may arise where, whether for strategic or other business reasons, McDonald’s decides to sell or transfer all or a portion of our business. We may transfer information we have collected and stored, including personal information, to the party or parties involved in the transaction as part of that transaction.
McDonald’s reserves the right to use or disclose personal information as needed to satisfy any law, regulation or legal request, to protect the integrity of our Online Services and in-restaurant technologies, to bring or defend against legal claims, to protect the rights, interests, safety and security of McDonald’s, McDonald’s employees or franchisees, or members of the public, or in connection with the investigation of fraud, illegal activity or violation of McDonald’s policy.
4. Children's Privacy Notice
McDonald’s understands the importance of privacy of users of our Online Services. We are especially committed to protecting the privacy of children who visit or use our Online Services. This Children's Privacy Notice is designed to answer your questions regarding our practices with respect to personal information we collect through our Online Services from children under the age of [14].
A. What Personal Information Does McDonald’s Collect?
We offer many features on our Sites, like games and coloring books, which do not require a child to provide any personal information. On occasion, however, we may collect personal information, such as an email address from children as part of an activity. For example:
- We may collect a child's email address to notify the child if he or she has won or lost a contest, competition or prize draw. In that event, we will notify the child using the email address the child supplies. We will not keep the email address or use it for any other purpose.
- We may collect a child's email address in order to respond to a request from the child on a one-time basis, such as to send the child a screen saver. In this case we promptly delete the email address from our system once we have responded, and we do not use the address for any other purpose.
We will not collect other personal information from a child under the age of [14], such as a [postal address] or telephone number, without the consent of a parent or guardian. If parent or guardian consent is required, we will collect the email address of the parent or guardian so we can provide notice of our information practices and/or seek the parent's or guardian's consent.
McDonald’s will not condition a child's participation in any online activity on the child's disclosure of more personal information than is reasonably necessary to participate in that activity.
B. How Does McDonald’s Use the Personal Information It Collects?
We use email addresses submitted by a child in order to respond to the child's request or to notify the child if he or she has won or lost a contest, competition, or prize draw they entered. We use the email address of a parent or guardian in order to provide the parent notice of our information practices or to seek the parent's or guardian's consent.
C. How Does McDonald’s Share Personal Information?
We may share a child's personal information with third parties to the extent reasonably necessary to protect the security or integrity of our Online Services, take precautions against liability, or respond to judicial process or requests from other governmental authorities, or when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity.
We also may share personal information collected from children with vendors that perform services for McDonald’s. These services may include hosting our Sites, providing technical services to McDonald’s, fulfilling requests or administering a contest, competition, or prize draw. We do not authorize such vendors to disclose the personal information we share with them other than as necessary to perform the relevant service for McDonald’s.
D. Requests from Parents Regarding Our Children's Privacy Practices.
Parents may review personal information we have collected from their child that has not been deleted, and can request that the personal information be deleted from our records if it has not been already. Parents also may refuse to permit further collection or use of their child's personal information, when the parent has previously provided consent. To do so, please contact us at the address, telephone number or email address provided below with your request.
E. Who Should I Contact with Questions about Children’s Privacy?
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
McDonald’s South Africa
McDonalds Customer Care on 0860 000 040 or email us at customer.care@za.mcd.com
5. Your Choices
If you have opted-in to marketing communications, you can elect not to receive marketing communications from McDonald’s by following the opt-out instructions in the marketing communications we send you; or contacting us at the address, telephone number or email address provided below. Please note that if you opt out of receiving marketing communications from us, we may still send communications to you concerning your transactions, accounts with McDonald’s and any contests, competitions, or prize draws in which you have enrolled.
6. Access to and Correction and Deletion of Personal Information
If at any time you would like to access, correct, or delete personal information we have collected from you, please contact us at the email or postal address listed below. In certain circumstances, including when required by applicable law, we will comply with your request. Please note that we may be required by law to retain certain information. Before McDonald’s is able to provide you with any information or correct any inaccuracies, we may ask you to verify your identity and/or provide other details to help us respond to your request.
7. Cookies and Similar Technologies
McDonald’s uses cookies and other similar technologies to collect information for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement under “How We Use the Information We Collect.”
Cookies
A "cookie" is a text file that websites send to a visitor's computer or other Internet-connected device to uniquely identify the visitor's browser or to store information or settings in the browser. Like most websites, McDonald’s uses cookies for a variety of purposes in order to improve your online experience. For example, we track the total number of visitors to our Sites on an anonymous aggregate basis. We may also employ cookies so that we remember you when you return to the Site, to keep track of the items in your shopping cart if you purchase merchandise online, to administer certain contests and to help customize your McDonald’s web experience. We may associate personal information with a cookie file in those instances. Both we and others (such as our advertising networks) may collect personal information about our visitors’ online activities, overtime and across third-party websites, when using our Online services.
Use the options in your web browser if you do not wish to receive a cookie or if you wish to set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. Click on the “Help” section of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences. If you disable all cookies, you may not be able to take advantage of all the features of this Site.
Other Technologies
We may use other technologies, including web beacons and JavaScript, which sometimes work together with cookies and other means with our Sites and Mobile Apps to uniquely identify your device. These other technologies help enable features on our Sites and within our Mobile Apps.
We may also use certain technologies to determine whether you have opened an e-mail or clicked on a link contained in an e-mail.
Please note the following:
- We offer certain features that are available only through the use of cookies and other similar technologies.
- We use both session and persistent cookies and other tracking technologies. Tracking technologies (e.g., cookies) can either be persistent (i.e., they remain on your computer until you delete them) or session-based (i.e., they last only until you close your browser). You are always free to decline tracking technologies if your browser permits, although doing so may interfere with your use of Online Services.
- We may encode and protect the tracking cookies and other tracking technologies that McDonald’s sets, so that only we can interpret the information stored in them.
- Where video is available on our Online Services, we may target and track the videos you view. You consent to our tracking of your video viewing through Online Services or third-party social media for up to two years, or as permitted by applicable law, or until consent is withdrawn.
8. Targeted Advertising
On our Online Services, we may collect information about your online activities for use in providing you with advertising tailored to your individual interests. This section of our Privacy Statement provides details and explains how to exercise your choices.
You may see certain ads on other websites because we participate in advertising networks. Ad networks allow us to target our messaging to users through demographic, interest-based and contextual means. These networks track your online activities over time by collecting information through automated means, including through the use of cookies, web server logs, web beacons and other technologies. The networks use this information to show you advertisements that may be tailored to your individual interests. The information our ad networks may collect includes information about your visits to websites that participate in the relevant advertising networks, such as the pages or advertisements you view and the actions you take on the websites. This data collection takes place both on our Online Services and on third-party websites that participate in the ad networks. This process also helps us evaluate our marketing efforts. You can opt out of delivery of targeted advertising to you by multiple companies by contacting us on:
- customer.care@za.mcd.com
Please note that even if you opt out, you will continue to receive advertisements, but they will not be tailored to your specific interests.
9. Links to Other Websites and Social Media
Our Online Services may offer links to third-party websites that are not operated by McDonald’s . If you visit one of these linked websites, you should review the website’s privacy policy, terms and conditions, and other policies. We are not responsible for the policies and practices of third-parties. Any information you submit to those third-parties is subject to their privacy policy, terms and conditions, and other policies.
10. Information Security
McDonald’s is committed to taking appropriate measures designed to keep personal information secure. We have in place technical, administrative, and physical procedures designed to protect personal information from accidental, unlawful or unauthorized loss, access, disclosure, use, alteration, or destruction. While we take efforts to safeguard our information systems, no website, mobile application, computer system, or transmission of data over the Internet or any other public network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.
11. Retention of Personal Information
We retain personal information for the period of time necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Statement and per McDonald’s records retention policies unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
12. International Data Transfers
McDonald’s is a franchisee in the McDonald’s Family, a global organization with business processes, management structures and technical systems that cross borders. As such, we may share information about you within the McDonald’s Family and transfer it to countries in the world where the McDonald’s Family carries on business in connection with the uses identified above and in accordance with this Privacy Statement. These countries may not have the same level of legal data protection as the country in which you initially provided the information.
13. Changes to our Privacy Statement
We may change this Privacy Statement from time to time. If we change the Privacy Statement, we will post the revised version here and change the “Effective Date” listed at the top of this Statement. We encourage you to check here periodically for the most up-to-date version of our Statement.
14. Party Names
Throughout this Statement, “McDonald’s” refers to MSA Devco (Pty) Ltd which is a developmental licensee of McDonald’s Corporation operating in South Africa.
15. How to Contact Us
McDonald’s South Africa
McDonalds Customer Care on 0860 000 040 or email us at customer.care@za.mcd.com