Giving up on Duolingo
I'm not writing this for anyone specific but myself; I have a need to put this in writing.
I had been using Duolingo for years, as I created my account 11 years ago. I casually started using it hoping to pick up some Spanish. I fell off it for a while after having a streak of 500+ days, then came back to it more seriously and kept things going for much longer. Esta bien, no?
This ended last month, as I willingly gave up on my streak of nearly 2100 days and stopping doing practice runs. I uninstalled the app the same day from everywhere to make sure I'd be free of the Owl's notifications. How did I get there, though?
There's a multitude of things that led me to this point, really. The first truth, and one that it took me a long time to acknowledge, is that what the app is in 2025 isn't what I liked in 2015 or even 2020. One of the most useful feature was the user forums, where you could read discussions on each lesson and sometimes better understand why you made an error... or why a specific answer could've been acceptable to a human speaker. These were removed a few years ago. Likewise, some lessons included optional grammar tips, helping you put into context the vocabulary you were about to learn. The learning system was also changed from a tree of sorts, with multiple options, to a purely linear one. The old system allowed you to choose between a few lessons, even if you needed to complete them all to pass some gate. This choice was removed, so I couldn't make a decision based on what I was feeling like doing at the moment. The linear path also felt endless, even if it was the same length in pratice.
Beyond that was a general frustration after reading several articles on how the Duolingo founder and CEO wanted to go all-in on AI, replacing the company's volunteers and contractors with automated systems. Language is a highly human subject and AI can't get this right at the moment, especially when it comes to regional nuances or things that could be properly understood by a subset of speakers.
The kicker? For the past 2-3 years, I've been a paying user of the app. I wanted to remove the obnoxious ads, sure, but I also wanted to support a model that I rather liked. That model was changed bit-by-bit, until it was no longer something I agreed with. Even worse, the company introduced a new, higher tier of subscriptionand they were trying to sell to me pretty much every day. If I'm paying to remove the ads, I don't want different ads to take their place, no matter how relevant they can be. I think my breaking point happened when one of the ads for the higher tier simulated a phone call, including making my phone ring and vibrate. That's a very big no-no to me, and the second time it happened, I pretty much check out of the thing.
The final confimation? One day, I learned that I had access to a different language learning tool thanks to my library card. I logged in and used their classification test, curious to see how well I'd do after spending several years on Duolingo. That test ranked me as beginner and sent me to lesson 1A – Greetings. That's when I knew I was done and uninstalled everyhing, even if I was only midway through my paid year.
Was this all a big waste? I want to say no. I've learned a lot of vocabulary and I can now understand some sentences when people are speaking. I've clearly picked up some of the language, even if my phrasing is probably terrible. I didn't hate it either. The simple truth is that the Duolingo of 2025 is not the 2015 tool I liked, and it took me quite a while to realize it and move on. Adios!
– Doctacosa