McDonald's Updates Online Services Terms, Arbitration Rules Effective April 2025

McDonald's revised its Terms and Conditions for Online Services in the United States, with changes effective April 7, 2025, that touch the arbitration process, age requirements, and the legal framework governing its delivery and text messaging programs.

The updated terms explicitly cover McDonald's website, mobile app, delivery program, and rewards program. The document carries repeated "Important" warnings urging users to read carefully because the terms "contain an arbitration agreement, jury and class action waivers, limitations on McDonald's liability and other provisions that affect your legal rights."

The text messaging program gets pulled directly into this legal framework. When a user opts in to any McDonald's text message program, the Online Services Terms are incorporated into the Text Messaging Program Terms and Conditions, and both documents together form what McDonald's calls simply "the terms." The company makes the classification explicit: "You understand and agree that McDonald's text messaging program is considered an 'online service' under the terms." That means the arbitration agreement and class action waiver apply to disputes arising from text message communications, not just app or web interactions.

The site notice announcing the changes is direct about what was revised: "These include updates to our age requirements and the arbitration and dispute resolution process." The precise nature of those age requirement changes, including previous versus updated thresholds and the rationale behind them, is not spelled out in the terms document itself. Similarly, the specific mechanics of the revised arbitration process, including the forum, fee structure, and any opt-out provisions, are not detailed in the excerpted language McDonald's surfaces prominently on its site.

For delivery orders, the terms include a dedicated section that applies to any order placed through the delivery program. That section notes that delivery "may not be available in all geographic areas or through all online services that McDonald's provides" and directs users to the McDonald's Delivery Program FAQs for specifics on placing orders.

The acceptance mechanism is passive: "By continuing to use our website, you agree to the revised Terms and Conditions agreement." No explicit affirmative consent step is described in the notice language, which is a common structure in consumer web agreements but one that has drawn scrutiny in arbitration-related litigation elsewhere in the industry.

The full arbitration clause text, including whether users can opt out of binding arbitration or the class action waiver, was not published in the terms excerpts McDonald's surfaces through its update notice. Those details would require a careful read of the complete Terms and Conditions for McDonald's Online Services (USA) document dated April 7, 2025.