August 18, 2016 — McDonald’s is pulling fitness-tracking watches out of Happy Meals after reports of skin irritation and burns.
The colorful “Step-It” watches were sold in Happy Meals as part of a 4-week promotion coinciding with the 2016 Olympics, for which McDonald’s is a major corporate sponsor.
The voluntary action came just days after a mom in Arkansas posted pictures of a burn on her 4 year-old son’s arm. She said he wore the watch for only 8 minutes.
When KCTV5 spoke to the woman, she said she received messages from eight or nine other parents who said their kids were also burned.
This is just the latest in a slew of recalls involving activity-tracking watches. Two years ago, over 1 million Fitbit watches were recalled after 10,000 users reported skin rashes, blisters, irritation, and burns.
Earlier this month, the Basis Peak watch was recalled after 0.2% of users reported skin reactions. The watch had a continuous heart-rate monitor that could overheat.