Last Updated September 20214

What is this policy about?

This Cookie Policy explains how McDonald’s Restaurants Limited (“we” or “our”) use “cookies” and similar technologies (such as “web beacons”, “pixels” or “tags”) on websites that reference this Cookie Policy (each our “Site”), the McDonald’s Ireland mobile application (“App”) and in our emails. It is designed to help you make informed decisions when using our Site and our App and interacting with our communications. Please take a moment to read and understand this Cookie Policy.This Cookie Policy should also be read in conjunction with our Privacy Statement and our Terms and Conditions.

Contents

1.     What are cookies?

2.     How long do cookies last?

3.     Which cookies are used on our Site and App?

4.     Is consent needed to use cookies?

5.     How do I refuse, block or delete cookies?

6.     What about Google Chrome cookies?

7.     Does this policy change?

8.     Have any feedback for us?
 

1.     What are cookies?

Cookies are very small text files or pieces of code, which often include a unique identifier. When you visit a website, the website sends information to your computer or mobile device and creates a text file that is then stored on your computer or mobile device. Information gathered through cookies may include the date and time of visits and show how people use the particular website or mobile application, usually so the website operator can make improvements. Amongst other things, cookies are also used to help you access a website and its content as efficiently as possible (by remembering you from your last visit) and to make sure you are presented with advertising that is relevant to you.

Similar to cookies are technologies known as “web beacons”, “pixels or “tags”. These technologies do a similar job to cookies, allowing website operators to count page views and understand how visitors interact with and respond to certain content.

We may also track your activity on our App through SDKs. SDKs are blocks of code provided by our partners that may be embedded in our App. SDKs help us understand how you interact with our App and collect certain information about the device and network you use to access our App, such as the advertising identifier associated with your device and information about how you interact with our applications.

For the purposes of the remainder of this Cookie Policy, we refer to cookies and the other technologies described above as “cookies”.

We use “first party cookies” and “third party cookies”. First party cookies are cookies placed by us. Third party cookies are cookies placed by others. Information collected by third party cookies will be shared with the relevant third party. Please refer to the relevant third party’s privacy notice for more details about the information they collect and how they use it.

Please note that our Site, App or emails may link to third party websites or digital properties which are not operated by us. Where you follow links from our Site, App or emails to the website or digital property of a third party, that website or digital property may place different cookies on your device. You should check the relevant privacy notice and/or cookie notice for more information about how that third party uses cookies.

You should be aware that applications you use to access our Site, such as your web browser, may also place cookies on your device when visiting our Site, or other websites. An example of this would be where you sign in to Google Chrome using a Google Account (see What about Google Chrome cookies?). We have no control over these third party cookies, so you will need to manage these cookies in the settings of the relevant applications.

For more general information on cookies and how they work, please visit All About Cookies.

2.     How long do cookies last?

The lifespan of a cookie depends on its purpose and how you interact with it:

Session Cookies – these are temporary cookies that are placed on your device during your browsing session and then automatically erased when you close your browser.

Persistent Cookies – these are designed to last for a pre-defined period of time, which varies depending on the nature of the cookie. Persistent cookies stay in your browser until they reach their individual expiry date or you manually delete them them (see How do I refuse, block or delete cookies?).

3.     What type of cookies are used by McDonald’s?

We use the following types of cookies:

Essential Cookies/Strictly Necessary Cookies – These cookies are necessary for the website or service to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.

Functional Cookies – These cookies enable the website or service to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly. These cookies may also allow you to sign in to our services using your social media account.

Analytics Cookies – These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site and digital services. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is used on an aggregate and/or anonymous basis (i.e. to understand more about our users generally and not any one individual). If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site or used our service, and will not be able to monitor the performance of the site or service. These cookies may also measure the effectiveness of advertising.

Targeting Cookies – These cookies (also known as advertising cookies or social media cookies) may be set through our site or digital service by us or our third-party advertising partners (including social media platforms). They may be used by us and those third-parties to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites and services. They do this by uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

To see which individual cookies we use on each Site, and the purposes for which they are used, please open our ‘Cookie Settings’ with the link found in the footer of the Site.

Here you can also review and manage your cookie consent preferences whenever you wish.
The table below sets out more information about the individual cookies we use on our App and the purposes for which they are used.
 

4.     Is consent needed to use cookies?

Essential/Strictly Necessary Cookies – We do not need your consent to store and access essential cookies on your device, although you can still block or delete them (see How do I refuse, block or delete cookies).

Other (“non-essential”) Cookies – We may only store and access non-essential cookies on your device with your permission. You are not obliged to give consent to our use of non-essential cookies. If you do give your consent and then change your mind, you can still delete any cookies that have already been placed (see How do I refuse, block or delete cookies).

5. How do I refuse, block or delete cookies?

There are various ways that you can manage your cookie preferences but please be aware that in order to use some parts of our Site and App you will need to allow certain essential or functional cookies. If you block or subsequently delete those cookies, some aspects of our Site and App may not work properly and you may not be able to access all or part of our Site or App.

Your options for managing your cookie preferences are set out below:

Through the Cookie Settings on our Site

When you access our Site, we will ask you to provide consent for our use of non-essential cookies. We may repeat this request on subsequent visits to our Site, for example if you delete cookies from your browser or we need to request new consents from you.

When we seek your consent, you will either be able to provide consent for all cookies that we would like to use, or you can tailor your cookie preferences (provide consent for some but not all non-essential cookies) using our Cookie Settings.

You can also change your preferences and/or withdraw your consent at any time by visiting our Cookie Settings. However, please be aware that withdrawing your consent does not remove the cookie from your device and, in the case of Targeting cookies (see What type of cookies are used by McDonald’s?), the cookie may still be used by third parties to show you personalised content and/or advertisements. To delete the cookie from your device and prevent the data from the cookie being used in this way, please see Using your browser settings or other tools.

Where cookies are essential to the operation of our Site, we can use these without your consent and they cannot be managed using our Cookie Settings.

Using your browser settings or other tools

You can block the use of cookies generally (not just in respect of our Site) by activating the relevant settings in your browser. For more information on cookie management and blocking or deleting cookies for a wide variety of browsers, visit All About Cookies.

Some cookies are dropped by third parties who operate the browser or application through which you access the Site (such as Google Chrome – see What about Google Chrome cookies?). We do not have control of this and you will need to manage those cookie settings through the relevant third party application.

If you do not want to be tracked by Google Analytics, you can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on (but this will only work on certain browsers). For further information on Google Analytics and its use of cookies, please consult the Google Analytics cookie policy.

6. What about Google Chrome cookies? 

Separately to our use of Google Analytics cookies, when you access the Site via Google applications such as Google Chrome, Google may collect user information for the purpose of Google serving personalised advertising across your devices. Google is able place these advertising cookies on the devices used by visitors to the Site because we use Google services to run the Site. However these cookies are dropped for Google’s own purposes and as such we do not have any control over how or when they are dropped. You will need to opt out of receiving these cookies via your Google settings. For further information about these cookies please see: https://policies.google.com/technologies/types?hl=en-US. Please note that other browsers may use similar tools.

7.     Does this policy change?

We may update our Cookie Policy from time to time. This might be for a number of reasons, such as to reflect a change in the law or to accommodate a change in our business practices and the way we use cookies. For example, it is not currently our policy to enable purchases of merchandise online via our websites, but if this policy were to change we would wish to use cookies to keep track of your online purchases, to keep your purchases secure and to assist you with making them (for example using a shopping cart cookie). We recommend that you check here periodically for any changes to our Cookie Policy.

8.     Have any feedback for us?

If you have any questions or feedback on our Cookie Policy, please contact us at customerfeedback@mcdonalds.ie.