Earlier this month McDonald’s launched a fitness tracking wearable. Included in Happy Meals, the wrist-worn STEP-iT was a great step forward in providing kids with the data they need to try to be healthier and more active. The plan was for almost 30 million kids to have access to the activity tracker. Even though it was just a glorified cheap plastic pedometer (that rattled all the time), it was an honorable plan to provide kids with technology they might not otherwise have. Unfortunately, like so many other fitness trackers, users have been reporting skin irritation and, worse, burns. McDonald’s has issued an immediate recall of all units and will no longer offer the wearable in-store. Reports of the issue started coming in a few days ago and the fast food icon began to quietly pull TV ads and remove mention of the tracker in-store. If your kid has a STEP-iT, McDonald’s is encouraging you to stop using it immediately and you can bring it in to the restaurant to trade for another toy.
Most of the time these types of recalls are due to skin reacting to chemicals in the band. With the STEP-iT, the issue is reported to be related to the 2 red LEDs on the back of the device. Of course these LEDs serve absolutely no purpose, which has to make this recall very frustrating for McDonalds.
