Duolingo
reviews and complaints

I was taking a unit test on Duolingo, and I had 1 life remaining. I was on the second to last question, and I got it wrong. Instead of letting me pass, they said I didn’t unlock the next unit and would have to retake the test. I had gotten to the LAST QUESTION and they failed my test. They then advertised their paid version, and it was just obnoxious. I feel that their paid version is a horrible investment despite that it is cheap, so I will not be financially supporting Duolingo at this time.

My account has been lost and so has my progress. I reached out to their tech support and I have not received any response. They seem to not care. I am a paid member and I have been for 9 years. This is poor customer service and shows lack of compassion for their members.

Duolingo is the worst company to resolve an issue with. I have turned in a troubleshooting report several times about my Duolingo account not letting me complete a lesson for the last 2 months and I get no response or indication that they will fix the problem on my continue button cycling and not letting me go to the next lesson. Several other people have had this problem with no resolution.

This company is a scam trying to sell English test and stealing your identity because they ask for an ID in place of them giving you your test score but eventually telling you they cannot give you your test score because they cannot verify your identity which was impossible because they even recorded your face on web cam. VERY SHADY SERVICE! SCAMMERS! STAY AWAY FROM THIS SERVICE AT ALL COST!

I discovered the DUOLINGO app on my phone and had no intention of subscribing to anything - the "FREE" lessons - by some roundabout way, resulted in a charge of 83.88 showing up on my credit card, and an email from DUOLINGO advising me of the charge for a 12 month subscription. At no time, was there a confirmation of membership enrollment, trial period parameters / expiration date, etc. If I elected to enroll, I did so unknowingly. I am not clear on how payment was obtained. But I imagine it may me connected to PayPal. I attempted to contact DUOLINGO by responding back to the email, as there was no contact phone number or email on the site, where I might speak with someone directly. I never received a response to either (2) emails. As a result, I was forced to contact my credit card company and file a dispute. I am still awaiting final closure regarding my dispute. "(Unsuspecting) BUYER BEWARE"

Hi, In my opinion Duolingo is literally the worst English Language Testing System Ever, One can do everything right but they will still NOT certify you because they don't want to and will make something up that you were cheating so that you keep on taking the test again and again. 1st time I was told that my voice and video had delay in it and I could not be certified. 2nd time I was told that I was looking away from the screen and I believed in them so I gave the test again and now 3rd time I was told that I rehearsed in my interview section and on top of that I had it written out in advance, WOW, how can I possibly already know which topic are they going to ask me, maybe I am a foreteller. So finally I ended up giving an IELTS (Academic) Test for my University Admission and I got my Refund from Duolingo. To all my friends out there I would highly suggest you to not go for this HEADACHE of Duolingo and rather take a proper IELTS or TOEFL Exam, it will cost you more but no more dealing with these guys.

Duolingo doesn’t allow you to take vacations, and breaks your streak if you forget to do a lesson. They send you the most useless notifications like “LETS KEEP YOUR 0 DAY STREAK” or “GET MAXIMUM DUOLINGO”, instead of warning you when you drop into the demotion zone, especially on the day people are promoted and demoted. I find this extremely frustrating, and they charge OBSCENE amounts of gems to stay in your league. I have considered quitting for a while, but knowing that I had no other choice, I decided to stay.

It seems Duolingo has an agenda to put adult content that is not appropriate for a language learning app. One example, and this is only one of many that I have noticed, is that Junior came home from school wanting to be a lion tamer because he thought his father, Eddie, was a lion tamer. He explained to his father that he saw leather pants and whips and his closet so he assumes his father is a lion tamer. It insinuates that his father has a lifestyle of masochism or other activities and provokes unnecessary thoughts toward that. Sometimes I have my grandchildren with me and share the stories with them and this is definitely not something that should be in a learning app. We’re trying to learn Spanish. Whoever is writing this should stop putting their personal lifestyle and adult humor in there. I find this very offensive and inappropriate.

My friend [protected]@gmail.com had booked my exam using my email id and I got mail [protected]@gmail.com for the same that my exam has been booked.but,I cannot give the exam from my id because the exam is appearing on my friends I'd instead of mine . please give refund of the money as soon as possible as the validity of the exam is only left for Seven days.

Thank you!

About two weeks ago I started the two week free trial for Super Duolingo. The app gave me a notification that I would receive a two day notice before the trial was over, but I did not receive any notification and the subscription automatically renewed and charged my connected card. I had no intention of actually buying Super Duolingo and was just using it for the two weeks. Now I have been charged for a $90 year long plan that I don't want and was told I would be given a warning for to cancel.

I also tried the Duolingo Max free trail, assuming that I would be able to cancel it, as I thought I would cancel the Super Duolingo free trial, but there is no option to cancel the Duolingo Max free trial. All that it shows is that I have cancelled any further payments of Super Duolingo, but have it unitl October of 2024. How do I make sure I will not be paying for Duolingo Max once the free trial runs out since I cannot cancel it?

On September 27, 2023 at around 6:00 pm. I went on the Duolingo app to do some Italian lessons . To my surprise they updated my course and jumped me ahead of where I was to the next section, which is beyond my ability at this time. They also marked the lessons as completed. I could not have completed them because there were too many new words that I never used before. I am paying for a subscription and can no longer use this app. There is no phone number and no customer service to speak with. The happened to my Spanish course as well.

I have used Duolingo many times over the past several years to "brush up" on languages before traveling. I have just resumed my learning and was considering purchasing the Super Duolingo product but have decided to continue only with the free version after encountering "the honeymoon" story in the Spanish language product. This story was the first exposure to the new words for "honeymoon" and "spouse" for the learner. It was confusing to encounter a same sex couple in this context, especially given that the majority of relationships worldwide are heterosexual. Why were a same-sex couple chosen as a model in this learning experience other than to satisfy ESG requirements? I am saddened by this choice on the part of Duolingo, and therefore I will not financially support your product by purchasing a paid subscription at this time.

I used the no paid free version for a few years with no problems- then within the past month I paid the single subscription and immediately after my credit card was charged began having problems whereby the Duolingo speaking feature of the characters doesn’t work. Occasionally one word would sound but mostly no speaking sound. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling multiple times to no avail- tried hitting the “can’t listen now” several times to be able to move forward with a lesson but then would ultimately get back to a lesson where Duolingo had to speak and same problem

No response or assistance available/offered from Duolingo. Want to cancel my subscription

On July 22, my phone that had Duolingo on it became incapacitated. I have several issues:

1. I got a new phone, downloaded DuoLingo again, but with the same info was NOT CONNECTED to my old Duolingo program and progress. It had me starting from zero when I was on Unit 31 of 33 total in Ukrainian. ! I also had a 115 day streak and had to go back to Day 1…

2. I also continue to be charged for Super Duolingo on the old account yet have no access and have tried UNSUCCESSFULLY to contact Duolingo to discontinue my paid account.

3. I tried to download Duolingo a second time on my new phone, and was set up with a THIRD account with a completely different language!

4. There is NO CUSTOMER SERVICE to contact to resolve the issue.

PLEASE CONTACT ME!

Renée Flory

want to have

I'm a fairly new Duolingo user. After using the free version I paid for the premium subscription. The day thst my subscription started, the app stopped working properly. I have been to the forums and used the advice there, but no luck. I've sent a number of email messages and even tracked down a phone number where I've also left messages. I have received absolutely no response whatsoever. I am feeling scammed by this company. As a premium subscriber who has done everything I can to get things running yet still can't use the service properly, to be ignored while my money is in their pocket is infuriating. All I want is to talk to someone who can help me troubleshoot the problem.

I signed up for a 2 week free trial. At 12 days and they had informed me via email that I would be charging 2 days. That very day I canceled the membership. Which they sent me an email saying we're sorry to see you go. They still charged me. I reached out to my bank to speak to them. They have no number to contact them. I tried reaching out to them via email and the person said they would check into it. Never got back to me now it's a never-ending please reply to this. There's no way to get ahold of these people or to get my money back. I still do not have the actual subscription that was a one-time purchase. So they charged me for the subscription but actually took off the subscription.

I submitted a concern about the possible breach of my account as I am getting alert for languages I have never signed up for. The second part to this issue is that I cannot reset my password as it seem someone has control of my account. I submitted a ticket directly to Duolingo support without any response or care to ensure my privacy and account was reclaimed and placed under protection. I am merely documenting this as I have with the FBI and Federal Trade Commission. I do not want them to run from their responsibility and ensure the officers of the company are held liable as in the case with privacy laws and lack of reporting of a breach. This may also make other Duolingo users aware that their account may be compromised.

Online language-learning company Duolingo recently issued what was labeled a platform "update," It was, in fact a wholesale change to the learning platform. This was done without seeking input from, or providing notice to, users. The platform overhaul has generated considerable negative commentary from longstanding users and, in particular, customers (customers pay $47.99 every six months on an automatic-renewal basis for the tool). My six-month subscription automatically renewed two days before the new format was pushed out. In an effort to secure a refund on the last payment -- as the tool, as it stands now, is not what I contracted for -- I have left two messages on Duolingo's customer service line requesting a call back, I have received no response.

I tried to cancel the Duolingo plus subscription through Duolingo subscription manager, but it didn't submit an email; and only show a page with a button to resubmit subscription to Duolingo plus. The cancellation request buttion first didn't allow me to cancel the subscription during January and sent me to greyed out button. The second time, I submitted a request, I didn't receive any confirmation. The application auto-subscribe me for another year at 89.99. I tried to work with the credit card company to have the amount removed, but Duolingo said the they never received the cancellation. (maybe it due to the cancellation page not working.). I received a cancellation letter March 15 saying they were sad to see me cancelling duolingo plus, but they never refunded my money.

I signed up for Duolingo language app during the first wave of the COVID pandemic. Last fall I unscubscribed and thought that I had cancelled my subscription. However, I just learned through my bank statement that I am still being charged for the service. When I go onto their website it shows that I am not subscribed for the service (I still have an account), and there is NO way to cancel the subscription of payments. I have followed all of their suggestions on the help page. None work. I went to the community comments page and found that MANY people are reporting the same problem. No one seems to get a response to their attempt to cancel. I have emailed, left questions, and done all I can. I cannot seem to unsubscribe or cancel. But I'm being charged. And I am not the only one.

I was charged today at 1:17pm for a $83.88 subscription. I've never used this service. I've checked Google and all my accounts and couldn't find where I subscribed. It's 1:40p of the same day. I used Forgot Password on every email I've ever used. I find one set up an account because there's no way to contact their customer service. I can't apply for a refund. This should not be allowed. You shouldn't have to keep a subscription you know about for under an hour. They don't allow refunds. I am livid! This is my Thanksgiving money they took and we just won't have anything now. I want a refund. I need it quickly. I also think someone should do something about companies taking advantage not allowing refunds and having no way to contact them is the new corporate grift. This is America! I have rights. I will start today to make sure this practice is abolished. People are building their companies off of these free trials. I want my money back.

I am trying to cancel my paid subscription as the app is no longer usable. I followed the instructions for cancelling but it didn't work. I tried reaching Duolingo yesterday 8/30/2022 via the app, Instagram (email and message), email from my email account, Facebook and Twitter. Got one autoreply via email (not helpful at all) and a response via Twitter telling me to try what I had already tried, which didn't work (also not helpful at all). I do not want to be charged forever for an app and service that I cannot use. But despite the instructions online, there is no way to cancel. This is shady and dishonest. I am not surprised at all that the Complaintsboard.com rating for Duolingo is "F". I want there to be a record that I am trying to cancel, so I can tell the credit card company when Duolingo auto-renews my subscription, that I did everything I could to cancel. To be very clear - I do NOT want my subscription to auto-renew; I want to CANCEL my subscription.

I was charged for a full year subscription based on an Auto-renewing subscription on Feb. 15th, 2022. I had no idea that this was set up on auto renewing, which frankly should be illegal without checking with the client first before taking the money out of my bank account. I do not authorize this charge. I had stopped using Duolinguo 9 months prior to this annual charge, and have no plans to use this app. Duolinguo also makes it very hard to get a refund, or to change subscription on their website. Google Play does not have a live person when I call the phone customer service ... only a form that does not allow me to explain what happened... and will not refund my money. Google Play wrote after I requested the refund: "We received your refund request of $89.24 for Duolingo Plus (Duolingo: language lessons), Transaction ID, but we can't provide a refund for this purchase because it doesn't meet with our policy. We apologize for any inconvenience caused." I am requesting a full refund as soon as possible. Thank you! Best

I have taken the "English test" online 2 times in the past to achieve a score of 125 or better. I was very close to this score on my previous 2 tests. I have studied very hard, and just recently took the test again for the 3rd time, in an effort to meet my school registration deadline. While I was taking the test my cellphone rang twice and I canceled it (it was an emergency given the current ongoing pandemic, and I had to have the phone close by since I was home alone, and there was an emergency". The phone was also activating itself periodically and I kept clicking to cancel it (I am not a phone savvy and my first time owning an iPhone). That being said, I did not answer the phone and I canceled the calls. I received an email from Duolingo stating "your account is blocked, for phone/materials present during the test". I did not cheat using any materials, phone, or any other forms of anything. please check my account, I have never had any previous violations on my account, and I always adhere to the policy and procedures. I feel it is a little excessive to just ban me altogether from taking the test again or give me my score. Please, if this is the first time that you believe that I "broke the rule" give me another chance. It is a very harsh decision for an unintended action. Mistakes happen, and I will make sure in the future to just leave everything outside the room. Please know that I did not cheat on the test or use any help from anyone physically or virtually (I was home alone) and there was no other "materials" presence as well. You can also review my account and the previous 2 tests. I kindly ask you to please unlock my account in order to retake the test at least, please.

Greetings, yes, around April 7, I started a two-week trial subscription for DuoLingo Plus that would allow me and five family members to study languages. On April 21, my credit card was charged $119.99 for the annual fee. Unfortunately, the program never became "plus," and it never gave me the option to invite my family members to join. I have tried reaching out to DuoLingo repeatedly, and I have received no satisfaction or help, so it was suggested that I reach out to you for assistance. I would still like to receive the full-year program (and the two free weeks) from whichever date the program is activated. If this is not provided, then I would like a refund. I just do not want to pay money for something I am not receiving. The email associated with the program is ***@***.org. In my many emails to Duolingo, I mentioned the last four numbers of my credit card. In your instructions, it sounded like I should not include that information. I hope I have included the information you might need. It looks like DuoLingo does not have a phone number according to an online search. There was also no number provided on my credit card statement. I have a friend who has DuoLingo Plus on her phone, so I know what it looks like when it is active. My friend has looked at my phone and tried to navigate it with me, and she was able to verify that the Plus program never kicked in even though I paid for it. (I just don't want DuoLingo to say that I am missing something on my phone.) (I have included a copy of my credit card statement. The DuoLingo payment is on the second line.) Thank you for your assistance with this issue. I truly appreciate your help. With kind regards

I have recently taken the duolingo test for my post graduation program. This was my fifth time re-writing the exam and re-appealing for proper reasonings and evidence for the non-certification of my test result. Besides; every attempt seems to give me unpleasant feedback with baseless and unsubstantiated false assertions. Because, everytime I truly know and believe that I have given all exams in full honesty and good faith. Some of the reasons given were : 1.Sound issues - Mic testing always happens right before the start which I had done on the Duolingo platform right before the exam started, where I have not had any issue with hearing my voice or the system's. 2. Reading from pre-written material - Candidates are never aware of what kind of questions will be asked during the examination, Hence, it is impossible to read from any pre-written answer which makes no sense to me. 3. Additional help- Candidates during the examination cannot close or open any additional page for external support, as the test platform is created in such a way which will automatically pause and shut down. Hence, once again making it not possible to get any sort of help from external sources. 4.Not maintaining enough eye-contact- With several attempts it is highly unlikely that I did not maintain my visuals as per their rules and regulations. As the entire exam is for a short duration (1hour approx.). I have always given my 100% focus and attention towards it. Moreover, when asked for evidence in return, they have never provided anything as such to prove the assumptions made, which I wholeheartedly feel is very unfair to me or any students going through such false allegations. And all they do is scam students to pay for their services and give them baseless assumptions to not certify the result. I dont not want anything to do with their services because i know their is no support from their end and all i requests is for my refund.