--- title: The REAL reason Duolingo users are deleting the app description: Duolingo faced massive user backlash in May 2025 after CEO Luis von Ahn published a memo advocating for full AI automation with the phrase 'humans won't get us... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-real-reason-duolingo-users-are-deleting-the-app-le94ccxge twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The REAL reason Duolingo users are deleting the app | daily.dev og:description: Duolingo faced massive user backlash in May 2025 after CEO Luis von Ahn published a memo advocating for full AI automation with the phrase 'humans won't get us... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-real-reason-duolingo-users-are-deleting-the-app-le94ccxge og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/lE94ccXgE.png og:image:alt: The REAL reason Duolingo users are deleting the app og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The REAL reason Duolingo users are deleting the app **[Hiten Shah](https://daily.dev/sources/hitenshow)** · 4 min read · 89 upvotes · 26 comments ## Summary Duolingo faced massive user backlash in May 2025 after CEO Luis von Ahn published a memo advocating for full AI automation with the phrase 'humans won't get us there.' While the company had been quietly integrating AI since 2020 and saw stock prices triple, users perceived a drop in content quality and felt the brand lost its personal touch. The crisis escalated when users called new AI-generated content 'AI slop,' leading to viral TikToks, Reddit criticism, and mass app deletions. Duolingo's response included deleting social media content and the CEO later walking back some statements, highlighting the challenge of balancing investor expectations with user experience. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@alexanderbaggett** · 28 upvotes > Bird acts like a drug addict going through withdraw when you don't use the app until late in the day. > > I'm not exaggerating, they change the app icon depending on how long it's been since you last did a lesson. **@robertozx64** · 9 upvotes > I just got fed up with all the relentless reminders, nonsensical phrases, and stupid leaderboards when all I wanted was to learn the basics at my own pace. > Deleted it almost one year ago and switched to other apps. I understand things did not improve since then. **@devinweidinger** · 4 upvotes > People hating AI is like people thinking GTA causes violence. Nothing Duolingo said was factually wrong. People clinging to Human Labor need to adapt instead of keeping us from evolving. **@pedrokarneiro** · 1 upvotes > The real reason I forgot Duolingo unused is that there is no real progress tracking, no measurement of my progress. It is like a never-ending road with a constant landscqpe. Another reason is that it seems there is no one there to read what you complain. They are so focused in their own ideas that they forget the pure and simple empathy with the end-user. **@juanwolfaardt** · 1 upvotes > Investors? Really? It's supposed to be an educational tool! ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Don’t just attend KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon, Merge Forward your experience\!](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-just-attend-kubecon-cloudnativecon-merge-forward-your-experience--l0rpp73x8) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing H2 2026 KCDs](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-h2-2026-kcds-m96goajm1) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Two months of Open Community Groups](https://daily.dev/posts/two-months-of-open-community-groups-asf52zhbs) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Unveils Schedule for KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Europe 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-unveils-schedule-for-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe-2026-ikhcoa5cb) · CNCF · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Debuts KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Japan 2026 Schedule](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-debuts-kubecon-cloudnativecon-japan-2026-schedule-xp5pyudub) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai](https://daily.dev/tags/ai), [#business](https://daily.dev/tags/business), [#automation](https://daily.dev/tags/automation), [#product-management](https://daily.dev/tags/product-management) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-real-reason-duolingo-users-are-deleting-the-app-le94ccxge) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required 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depending on how long it’s been since you last did a lesson.","datePublished":"2025-08-07T13:38:14.221Z","dateModified":"2025-08-07T13:39:06.891Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/lE94ccXgE#c-Hi8UTYOLf","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexander Baggett","url":"https://daily.dev/alexanderbaggett","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocIQI9dd4TBSovzJuHHWqDsIUtL9Gm4y-FoNBn4bKuTiuR-hpPKZIA=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":28}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I just got fed up with all the relentless reminders, nonsensical phrases, and stupid leaderboards when all I wanted was to learn the basics at my own pace.\nDeleted it almost one year ago and switched to other apps. I understand things did not improve since then.","datePublished":"2025-08-11T14:09:32.071Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/lE94ccXgE#c-8nG4UWaDF","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Roberto Dillon","url":"https://daily.dev/robertozx64","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocIVrHEFko_6VGTEU0f9pK_aAHTMZbJemzW-t7jRKVSO6VsXZj0=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":9}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"People hating AI is like people thinking GTA causes violence. Nothing Duolingo said was factually wrong. People clinging to Human Labor need to adapt instead of keeping us from evolving.","datePublished":"2025-08-11T15:22:02.983Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/lE94ccXgE#c-Ii5APdKpR","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Devin Weidinger","url":"https://daily.dev/devinweidinger","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocLXFU-SGryQUuzkPdVe_WektQsSN-6WCoMkaEqwFaPzujH4DQDQcg=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":4}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"The real reason I forgot Duolingo unused is that there is no real progress tracking, no measurement of my progress. It is like a never-ending road with a constant landscqpe. Another reason is that it seems there is no one there to read what you complain. They are so focused in their own ideas that they forget the pure and simple empathy with the end-user.","datePublished":"2025-08-26T17:43:32.730Z","dateModified":"2025-08-26T17:44:00.295Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/lE94ccXgE#c-sKJeaD49Y","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Pedro","url":"https://daily.dev/pedrokarneiro","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocLYT-h9R5fWvRtbk5k8doXRB8jJj4BSZJvNDPvoU5jqvZL83Xns=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Investors? Really? It’s supposed to be an educational tool!","datePublished":"2025-09-19T08:25:06.572Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/lE94ccXgE#c-fWE0rw7Tl","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Juan Wolfaardt","url":"https://daily.dev/juanwolfaardt","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocJyttkDEDjFDIoVYfHKVS4trWW_P7s299d3Qz18exHw8yWakA=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}}]} ```