McDonald's tracking of the man's purchases led to a 515-page dossier about him. Photo / Getty Images
A United States journalist was shocked to receive a 515-page dossier detailing his spending habits when he requested what personal data McDonald’s had on him.
Wired journalist Reece Rogers requested his personal data from the fast food company and discovered McDonald’s held 515 pages of information about him through its
loyalty programme.
It included predictions on how often he would visit McDonald’s, how much he would spend and what he would order.
The San Francisco-based technology writer discovered the company’s algorithmic predictions expected him to visit McDonald’s 2.16 times over the following six weeks, spending $13.49 per order.
The file included details of every transaction Rogers had made.
The dossier also stated Rogers had a “Customer Attrition Likelihood” of zero, meaning McDonald’s believed there was no chance he would stop eating there.
In a piece for Wired magazine, Rogers said he understood there would be data tracking by McDonald’s when he joined the loyalty programme, but the volume of information surprised him.
Joseph Turow, a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, told the New York Post 515 pages on one customer “boggles the mind”.
“We ought to be concerned globally. This is one case,” Turow told the NY Post.
“Imagine this going on in, you know, hundreds and hundreds of retailers across the United States, right? This is not a one-off.”
He said the file is a symptom of a shift towards more personalised marketing, tailored to each individual.
“McDonald’s goal is to make its relationship with you so personalised that you will see yourself in their relationship with you,” the expert said.
After the discovery, Rogers asked McDonald’s Privacy Rights Center to delete the data.
He also vowed to stop eating at McDonald’s.
