# McDonald's app

12 Hacker News commenters recommended McDonald's app and 49 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for accurate custom orders, table ordering and loyalty deals, but critics warn of location tracking and higher app-only prices.

## Why people recommend it

- Accurate custom orders (5 comments): "The app really does enhance the experience, order exactly what you want without human error" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46008592)) "I've never had a custom order prepared wrong with the kiosk or app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47792720)) "the order is always correct, the packaging is nicer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48044688))
- Loyalty discounts and deals (4 comments): "Every time I checkout the app there is some crazy deal." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47995592)) "£2.99 for a McPlant and fries at 3am is a godsend." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46021022)) "the loyalty discounts I get save me real money" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063671))
- Order ahead, ready on arrival (2 comments): "you should see how i can order from the McDonalds app and the food is ready when you show up" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48041108)) "the McDonald's app would send me a notification when my food was ready" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47660474))

## What people warn about

- Location tracking and privacy intrusion (3 comments): "the app is exceptionally inconvenient, unless someone else in the car is ordering, as well as privacy intrusive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46027418)) "Crazy invasive. Guess they want to see how far you drive and what route you get to get there." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46369750)) "demanding that I let it track my location at all times in order for it to keep me signed in" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49288915))
- Crashes and app bugs (4 comments): "when I touched the icon to open the app, a big M appeared on a bright red screen and then it died and returned to the home screen less than half a second later" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47787538)) "there's no user accessible way to make it happen, and you can't (or couldn't) make a new order while one was pending" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47788737)) "I once had the app fail to realize I had picked up my order and I was unable to do new orders." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46019244))
- Higher prices for app users (2 comments): "It's more a fee for not using the app, and if you use the app you'll get charged the highest price McDonald's has decided you will pay." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47994829)) "McDonalds has been shown multiple times to use their app to figure out how much someone is really willing to play for their slop" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063825))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Uber Eats](https://hackerapproved.com/p/uber-eats.md): 16 recommend
- [Amazon Grocery](https://hackerapproved.com/p/amazon-grocery-delivery.md): 6 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.mcdonalds.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "McDonald's app", https://hackerapproved.com/p/mcdonald-s-app/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).