McDonald’s loyalty app created 515-page predictive dossier on customer

A journalist for Wired, Reece Rogers, discovered that McDonald’s had compiled a 515-page dossier on him through its loyalty program. Rogers obtained the file by exercising his legal right to access personal data under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

The extensive digital profile included a detailed history of past transactions, loyalty points, and promotional offers received. Beyond historical data, the file contained highly specific computational predictions regarding his future behavior. These included estimates on how many times he would visit the restaurant over a six-week period, his average spend per visit, and his total projected expenditure.

The data also categorized his eating habits into specific behavioral profiles, such as “Food-Led Afternoon Snack” and “On the Go Lunch in a Rush.” The company’s algorithms even assigned him a “Customer Attrition Likelihood” of zero, predicting he would never stop patronizing the brand. McDonald’s stated that it uses past purchase information to provide more engaging experiences and takes steps to safeguard customer information.