Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Duolingo's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Duolingo

  5900 Penn Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15206-3817

• 

  Duolingo

  5545 Walnut Street Pittsburg, PA 15232

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/24/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I paid for the student account and verified my eligibility. My account was cancelled in error. I contacted customer service in order to reistate my student account. They told me I could sign up for the student discount and then sent me another message stating that they would not offer me the discount.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/17/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In March, my son stopped being able to access his account under a paid family account. I've been trying to contact customer support, but ********************** just ignores my emails and they do not appear to have a phone number.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/10/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am submitting this complaint regarding an unauthorized charge of $100 USD ($166 CAD) for a Duolingo subscription. I signed up for a free trial but attempted to cancel immediately after signing up, as I realized I did not want to proceed with the service. However, I was not allowed to cancel the trial at that time.Additionally, I never received any email notification or warning that the trial period was ending or that my card would be charged. This lack of communication is unacceptable for a company offering subscription-based services.The charge has caused me significant stress and anxiety and has overdrawn my account, putting me in a financially difficult position. I am respectfully requesting a full refund, as I did not intend to subscribe and did not use the paid service.I would prefer to resolve this directly through Duolingo without involving my bank in a dispute process. Please contact me to arrange a refund as soon as possible.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/02/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have used Duolingo in the past, and in January, I registered again, selecting the Spanish course. I use my iPad for the ******s. It was all going along fine until early March, when the screen froze mid ******* I rebooted, reloaded and started the ****** again. Same thing. There was some kind of new animation that seemed to be causing it. I immediately emailed the company via their Help option. I got an automated response and then another email from a person. I explained the problem. I included screenshots of what the frozen screen looked like. They said they would look into it. But it kept happening. There was no way to finish a ******* I emailed again. And again. And again. No one ever got back to me. I sent another email requesting a refund. No response. This was a total waste of my money and time.There is no customer service at all.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/04/2025

  Regarding the complaint I filed, here are some screenshots of some of the many complaints I filed with the company. The earlier ones were via their Help option on the Duolingo website, so I dont have access to those. I filed complaints under more than one category, but the last response if got was the one below.Also are screenshots of how the screen freezes mid lessons. The text is only on to the top half of the screen. When it is functioning, it is full screen.
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/01/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was progressing fine in the app, learning Spanish well, until I reached Sec 1 unit 7 - "Talk about school ****** 4 of 5." It wont let me move past my first response on ****** 4!!!!! I've been emailing several times and have received no follow-up or response. I can't move past this level for months due to the Duolingo app's program glitch. So I would like my money back!Its been about a month of my letting you all know!!!!!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/22/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Im out $167 with no recourse for refund. I was enjoying the program until they added a stupid lightning bolt feature (it has all these cute things to cheer you on when you answer a question correctly and this one shoots a lightning bolt) When you get the lightning bolt at least half the time the game freezes and you have to start that module over just to have it happen again. I have sent 3 requests to the nonexistent customer service over more than 2 weeks now and gotten no reply. There is no recourse for refund.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/14/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am a family subscriber of Duolingo. I have submitted five HELP complaints that my game is freezing. I get stuck on a ****** and the screen freezes at the same screen in each ****** I try. It is happening in both my German and Irish ******s. I submit the complaint, get an email confirming the complaint was received, and it isnt fixed. There is no way to obtain help except by submitting the complaint over and over again They just arent fixing it and not responding to me.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/12/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Duolingo has gotten rid of their customer service line and chat features, which leaves little recourse to get solutions. As a result, *** only been able to email customer support about the issue. Ive done so on three separate occasions, but never received a response. I have a paid account. At three different spots in the curriculum so far, the program freezes half way through a ****** and wont let you advance. Ive tried deleting and reinstalling the app, checked my connection and storage on my phone, and none of these were the issue. The only way that I have found to circumvent this is to skip the rest of the unit and start fresh in the next unit. However, this means Im missing the instruction that I need to work toward language acquisition. This was not a one time thing but rather a concern at several spots in the curriculum so far. I wouldnt find this acceptable even in the free version, but to have it for the paid version with no response is absolutely unacceptable. I would like a response from customer support to determine what the issue is so it can be resolved and the app can work as intended.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/10/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Cannot access my Duolingo account and have contacted Duolingo with no response other than acknowledgement they have received the email.Their phone number is disconnected and the only phone number that works is a recored message so no way to actually speak to a person. IN addition when I could access my account their responses to the Spanish question were incorrect.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/04/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I signed up for Duolingo on 2/20 and immediately unsubscribed from their email list. However, they continue to email me, every single day. I click "unsubscribe" literally every single day, but they keep emailing me anyway. This is ILLEGAL: it is a violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. **************** ignores my emails, clicking the "unsubscribe" button does nothing, Duolingo continues harassing me by sending unsolicited emails.