McDonald's collects your precise or approximate location through GPS, IP address, and WiFi data, and uses this information both to show you nearby restaurants and to target you with ads.
This analysis describes what McDonald's's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
Precise geolocation data is among the most sensitive categories of personal information because it can reveal where you live, work, and travel on a regular basis, and this data is used not just operationally but also for advertising.
Interpretive note: The policy does not specify whether advertising use of geolocation requires opt-in or merely opt-out under its stated consent framework, creating ambiguity about the default data collection posture.
If you use the McDonald's app, your precise GPS location may be collected and used for advertising purposes, meaning your physical movements could inform the ads you see both on and off McDonald's platforms.
How other platforms handle this
to request that your data be transferred to a third party (data portability)
Your organization may allow you to access and export your data in order to back it up or transfer it to a service outside of Google.
To stop us collecting your location information, you can update your device settings, stop using the Service, or uninstall our mobile apps.
"We collect location information, such as your precise or approximate location, as determined through data such as GPS, IP address, and WiFi, to provide location-based services, such as showing you the nearest McDonald's restaurant, as well as for advertising purposes.Excerpt from McDonald's's Privacy Policy
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Precise geolocation data collection engages the California Privacy Rights Act, which treats geolocation as a sensitive personal information category requiring a clear opt-in or opt-out mechanism depending on use; the FTC Act's framework …
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Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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Precise geolocation data is among the most sensitive categories of personal information because it can reveal where you live, work, and travel on a regular basis, and this data is used not just operationally but also for advertising.
If you use the McDonald's app, your precise GPS location may be collected and used for advertising purposes, meaning your physical movements could inform the ads you see both on and off McDonald's platforms.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 290 platforms. See the full comparison.
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