Why Are So Many Users Saying “Adiós” to Duolingo? What’s Next for EdTech When Trust Fails
- Krzysztof Kosman
- Jul 29
- 5 min read
Around this time, social media and review sites began filling with angry posts: “Canceled. No money for this. You put AI over humans?” Even LinkedIn was awash with streak-breaking goodbyes—some users dropped 1,500-day streaks in protest. Result: Power users canceled in droves. They didn’t just grumble—they migrated to paid competitors (like Busuu or Babbel) or free resources (like Mango Languages via public libraries). As EdTechReview notes, many EdTech product failures stem less from poor tech and more from misunderstanding core user needs, unvalidated pivots, or neglect of the informal support structures (like forums) that enable mastery and retention.
Opening: EdTech’s Golden Goose Gets Cooked?
Remember when learning a language online felt playful, free, and—dare we say—downright fun? For much of the last decade, Duolingo was the undisputed cheerleader of this movement: cheeky mascots, streaks that gently haunted your dreams, and a user base spanning 100+ million learners. In 2024, though, the wind has changed. Rather than a badge of global learning, Duolingo’s green owl is now facing a mass cancellation wave, alienated super-users, and uncomfortable headlines. Why are so many quitting in protest? And what could this mean for the wider education technology (EdTech) sector?
Context: How Duolingo Lost Its Fanbase—and Why It Matters
For years, Duolingo was the case study EdTech startups envied and imitated: scalable, addictive, and (mostly) free. Their ethos was "education for everyone, everywhere." It’s how they built a following of language nerds, teachers, expats, and hobbyists. But since late 2023, cracks began showing:
AI replaced human content creators. In late 2023 and again in October 2024, the company laid off hundreds of expert writers, translators, and language professionals, swapping them for AI-generated lessons.
Subscription tiers soared in price. The introduction of Duolingo Max ($30/month) and the paywalling of formerly free features angered formerly loyal users.
Quality complaints and culture clash. From buggy, robotic content to the shuttering of beloved community forums, Duolingo’s shift didn’t just change the product, it eroded the user trust the brand was built on.
Why does this matter? Because Duolingo’s crisis doesn’t just signal one app’s stumble—it’s a canary in the coal mine for a sector at a crossroads between efficiency, ethics, and educational value.
Core Insights: The Fault Lines in Modern EdTech
1. The AI-First Gamble: When Efficiency Outpaces Experience
Duolingo’s AI pivot, led by CEO Luis von Ahn, wasn’t just a behind-the-scenes tweak. It fundamentally reshaped the company. By laying off around 10% of its expert contractors—people with deep, nuanced language understanding—in favor of rapid AI lesson generation, Duolingo tried to automate away its most irreplaceable asset. The reaction? Lessons littered with misgendered words, robotic roleplay dialogues, and culturally insensitive mishaps. Users reported that AI-generated explanations lacked depth, creativity, and at times, even basic correctness (“lessons that are downright wrong” was a common refrain). This is more than a speed bump. In EdTech, trust and credibility are the product. If students, parents, and educators stop believing your material is correct—or even human-created—they’ll simply walk away.
2. Monetization Over Mission: Subscriptions and the New Paywall Prison
Remember Duolingo’s original “free forever”? Those days are gone.
Duolingo Max (launched at ~$30/month, $168/year) shocked many who viewed language learning as a right, not a premium luxury.
Features once standard (speaking, vocabulary review, community forums) are now gated—if you cancel, the app becomes ‘extremely limited.’
The notorious hearts-to-energy system limits learning by capping repetitions and even correct attempts, causing frustration and breaking the “practice makes perfect” loop necessary for actual mastery.
3. Decline of Quality and Community: The Human is Not Optional
Community-driven forums (“Duolingo Discussions”) were once where learners corrected each other's mistakes, debated tricky conjugations, or just commiserated about irregular verbs. Duolingo shut these forums down just as its AI expansion launched—leaving users alone with their frustrations. At the same time, the beloved “Stories” feature was replaced with less engaging AI versions. Many users felt the soul was stripped from the curriculum, and with it, the magic that once made the app memorable.
The trend is ripe for disruption. Competitors like Busuu are winning over ex-Duolingo users by emphasizing expert-created content, real communication, and less restrictive learning. Their communities are growing rapidly, fueled by lessons learned from Duolingo’s missteps.
4. The Engagement vs. Education Debate (David Ou’s Paradox)
David Ou’s incisive critique (see YouTube: “Why Everyone is Cancelling Duolingo Right Now”) highlights a profound paradox: “Duolingo isn’t really designed to teach you a language. It’s designed to make you feel like you’re learning one.” Gamification (streaks, leaderboards, XP) drives daily engagement but may not foster real conversational skills. As Ou analogizes, “You can go to Planet Fitness, walk in to go pee, and go home—you checked the box, but gained nothing.” Duolingo’s model potentially confuses high app activity with high educational outcomes. And while this fuels sky-high engagement metrics (beloved by investors), it makes long-term educational impact—true fluency—an afterthought.
5. Business Paradox and Investor Blindness
Despite the uproar, Duolingo posted record user growth: over 103 million monthly actives as of late 2024. The stock trades at all-time highs. Investors focused on engagement numbers and year-over-year growth seem to care little about deep user trust or educational outcomes—at least for now. But perhaps the most dangerous sign is what Ou calls the “trust gamble”: With over 90% of user growth coming from organic word-of-mouth, sacrificing trust for cold efficiency may yield dividends now but risk catastrophic brand damage in the future.
Implications: What Should EdTech Teams Rethink?
Duolingo’s stumble is a warning flare for every digital education provider:
Don’t sacrifice quality for automation. AI is powerful, but in education, a human-reviewed checks-and-balances system is non-negotiable. Rushed pivots lead to humiliation and lost trust.
Beware the limits of subscription-first models. Gamification keeps users coming back—but if users are forced to pay for interaction (not mastery), your app feels hostile, not helpful.
Community is insulation, not overhead. When forums, human explanations, or expert support vanish, so do your power users—the very people who build brand equity and viral loyalty.
Engagement isn’t always learning. Algorithms may ensure users open the app, but true customer love is built on honest outcomes and deep value, not just habit.
Conclusion: Building Real Trust in the AI Age
Duolingo’s cancellation crisis is about more than price hikes, lesson bugs, or even AI per se. It’s about the loss of trust—the silent social contract that keeps users loyal, forgiving, and eager to share your product with their friends. In EdTech, every leader should ask: Are we teaching, or just keeping people busy? Are we serving efficiency, or growing relationships and real outcomes? As AI tools become the norm, those who combine automation with authentic community and expert quality won’t just retain their users—they’ll define the next era of digital education.
What do you think? Would you still recommend an app run mostly by AI? Have you jumped ship to Busuu, Mango, or Babbel, or patched together your own path? Join the conversation in the comments—or in a vibrant community forum, wherever you can still find one.
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