A Burger King app error in the UK let customers pile extra burgers onto a two-for-12-pounds Whopper meal deal at no extra cost. The chain only caught on after one customer reported it, and fellow bargain hunters were not amused.
Somewhere in Britain, one honest customer reported a free-food glitch. The internet has not forgiven them.
A bug in Burger King's UK app let customers add any number of extra burgers to the chain's two-for-12-pounds Whopper meal deal at no extra cost, the Daily Mail reported Wednesday, Nov. 4. The Sun published a screenshot of the app showing two Whopper meals priced at 0.00 pounds.
Both papers said "thousands" of free meals went out. Burger King only realized something was wrong after a customer flagged the error, the Daily Mail reported.
That customer got called a "grass" for their trouble, which is British slang for a snitch. The Sun's headline used a much spicier version of the insult. We'll leave that one in London.
For scale, 12 pounds is roughly $16. For a little while, a Whopper meal in the UK cost less than the bus ride to get it.
What did the Burger King app glitch do?
Here's what's been reported so far:
The deal: Burger King UK's two Whopper meals for 12 pounds
The bug: Extra burgers could be added to that deal without raising the price, the Daily Mail reported
The screen: The app showed two Whopper meals at 0.00 pounds, in a screenshot The Sun published
The scale: "Thousands" of free meals, according to both papers
We couldn't independently confirm when the glitch started, how long it lasted or exactly how many orders went through.
What did Burger King say about the free Whopper glitch?
We haven't seen Burger King UK's full response. Both reports say the chain didn't catch the error until a customer pointed it out.
We also don't know whether Burger King plans to charge anyone for the free food or cancel any orders. In a 2022 UK glitch, the chain simply let customers claim their free burgers (more on that below).
Can you still get free Whoppers from the Burger King app?
Probably not. The Sun's headline says the giveaway happened before Burger King was alerted, so it appears to be fixed. It was also a UK app problem. Both reports are about British orders, not U.S. ones.
If you're in the U.S. and want a cheap Whopper, your best bet is still the deals tab in the Burger King app. Just don't expect it to say 0.00.
Has Burger King had app glitches before?
A few, and Burger King hasn't always minded the attention.
March 2022, UK: Burger King mistakenly sent thousands of free Whopper coupons to app users nationwide, The Independent reported. The chain blamed "a whopper of a technical glitch" and let people claim the burgers until midday April 2.
December 2018, U.S.: During the Whopper Detour promotion, the app sold one-cent Whoppers to people within 600 feet of a McDonald's. A Los Angeles man ended up charged $1,093.91 for his, Fox reported. Burger King called it an "isolated technical issue" and promised a full refund.
So, to recap: The Whopper has been free, a penny and accidentally more than a thousand dollars. This week, in Britain, it was free again.
What does 'grass' mean in British slang?
A "grass" is someone who informs on other people, usually to the police or whoever is in charge. "Grassing someone up" means reporting them. The closest American word is "snitch."
The term goes back decades in British crime slang. Using it on someone who flagged a burger glitch is a bit dramatic, but deal hunters take their free food seriously.
In fairness to the grass, reporting an app bug isn't exactly turning in a bank robber. If anything, they probably saved some poor Burger King manager a very long shift.
Article compiled and written by Kambrea Pratt (editor-in-chief), Derek Gibbs (beat editor) and the Pirates & Princesses newsroom. Pirates & Princesses is part of WebReef Media.
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Hat Tips:
Daily Mail (Nov. 4, 2026), the glitch, the two-for-12-pounds deal, the "thousands" figure and the customer who reported it
The Sun (Nov. 4, 2026), the 0.00 pounds app screenshot and the "grass" detail
The Independent via Yahoo (March 31, 2022), Burger King's 2022 UK coupon glitch
FOX 10 Phoenix (Dec. 16, 2018), the Whopper Detour overcharge and Burger King's response
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