McDonald's Throwback Thursday Deal: 25-Cent Burgers For Just A Little Consumer Data

Fast food chains really, really want you to sign up for their apps. They would insert a chip into your brain if they could, really, if that meant they could sell you more McEgg McWendy's McWhopper McNuggets. But since they aren't allowed to that, for us phone-tethered customers, mobile apps are the next best thing. One of the ways we can be lured to these apps is a really good deal on food, or flat-out food giveaways: free fries with this, a pie with that, and so on.

In its most recent promotion, McDonald's is celebrating Throwback Thursdays by tacking on special deals with purchases through the mobile app. The list is available on McDonald's website and the deals continue until February 18. The upcoming discounts include $0.20 apple pies, $0.35 large fries, and $0.25 cheeseburgers—that is, the actual cost of these menu items way back in the day. You can only score these items in the mobile app, and only when you spend money on regular price menu items.

With so much competition out there for your bucks, these mobile apps are a good way for chains to keep a close eye on you. Many times the deals are great; there was a big Wendy's promotion in 2018 where you could get a free Dave's Single (a quarter-pound burger) every day for nearly two weeks with the purchase of anything at all. I know about this because I participated and ate a lot of Dave's Singles throughout that time, knowing full well that Wendy's probably had a firm grasp on my eating habits as a result (and what they learned was that I was only going when there were big discounts). Hell, Wendy's probably knows that I should call my parents more often, too.

But armed with this information, a deal is a deal, and when it comes down to it, I like free food. At some point down the line when my consumerism is outweighed by the feeling that Big Brother is watching, I'll just change my identity, move to a different country, and start a whole new life. No big deal.