8 Duolingo changes I’d like to see after the 1,000-day streak

I really like Duolingo, which seems like an unfashionable thing to say in 2026. It may have been a pioneer in language learning apps, but it’s dividing opinion at best these days. I certainly can’t blame anyone for giving up on the program. There are various reasons to dislike what it has become or its limitations as a tool. I’m also considering my options because list of solid Duolingo alternatives growing rapidly, but I am a loyal customer and resistant to change. I also think that Duolingo does a lot of things right and with a few tweaks it could reclaim the language learning crown.

I’m not talking about the crazy benevolence of making the entire app free for everyone—you can hope Duo will do your taxes for you. Let’s be realistic and take the obvious for granted. But years later defends the program and building a Duolingo streak of 1125 days, here are the changes I’d like to see.

Love it or hate it, there’s a very good reason why Duolingo is so gamified. From gems and leaderboards to silly characters and awesome sounds, everything is designed to keep you engaged. That’s enough to put a lot of people off, but I choose to accept it. I’m happy with an addictive app – that is, as long as I’m learning. I like to compete against others and build a chainbut I can justify it to myself as my Spanish improves. The problem is that Duolingo gives you too many ways to pretend you’ve learned.

One example I always fall back on is Match Madness, where you have to match words in two languages ​​against the clock. If you’re good at this, you can earn points and climb the leaderboards faster than you would through standard classes. I’m a beast so far, but that’s not much to brag about because I barely learn anything. I can beat high levels while my mind wanders and takes in almost nothing. It’s a bilingual mole. Still, if I need an extra 500 points on Sunday to win the league and I’ve had a long day, this is where I go.

Sure, have those sideshows, Duo, but let’s focus on the lessons.

Speaking of ways you can compete without learning, it’s pretty easy to cheat on Duolingo. I came across a really obvious scam last year in the speaking practice section. Since then, the UI for that section and the rest of the app has been overhauled, but inexplicably, you can still use this cheat. I don’t use it regularly, but when I’m tired at the end of a long day, if I want to keep the streak alive, I’ve resisted the temptation. In my defense, I also tricked myself and the rest of you by asking to close the program.

It won’t surprise you to learn that this isn’t the only way to cheat on Duolingo, and I’m not talking about something as complicated as hacking. There are cheats on the internet if you want to find them, but I don’t want them. I need to improve my Spanish so take the temptation.

There’s no way the Duolingo team was unaware of these scams, so it’s strange that no changes have been made. It would be in the company’s interest to do so. Not to ensure everyone learns while earning points – which is nice, but I’m sure they don’t care – but because it creates a level playing field. Tragic people like me like to compete in leagues, and if you’re competing with people who cheat and get away with it, it’s discouraging.

Duolingo can teach me a Spanish tutorial, but that only takes me so far. I live in Mexico and it’s no secret that the Spanish spoken here is very different from the Spanish spoken in Spain. I think Duo is mainly aimed at an American audience, so the app is dominated by Latin American Spanish. This in itself, of course, has many regional variations. It’s fine if you’re using the app to pass a school exam. It’s less useful if you want to understand the language in a specific country or region.

Even with the best Mexican Spanish teaching me, it’s still a leap to understand the locals. Most people use slang in conversation, no matter where they live. You probably do, and most of the time without even realizing it. Still, there’s no reason why Duolingo can’t give you and itself an edge by teaching you the most common words you’ll actually hear on the street, instead of the words you’ll see on a news site or public notice.

If I met the Owl Duo in a cafe or on the bus, I would have no problem passing by. The problem is that most Mexicans are asking if the bear has a suitcase, not purple-haired cartoon teenagers.

Hey Duo, if I switch my regular Spanish study to Korean, do you think it’s because I’m about to go on vacation? When I’m in a new country and culture for a limited amount of time, how much time do I want to devote to my regular language practice? I want to enjoy my trip and not conjugate verbs in the hotel room at 11:58 pm.

Vacation mode is perhaps the most glaring flaw possible in a leading language learning program. I should have the option to freeze my streak and the league I’m in while I explore a new location. Duolingo offers streak freezes, but you only get a few, so nothing is saved after a long weekend. A streak should be motivation, not a hostage situation with push notifications.

It can be abused, of course, but there are all kinds of ways to counter it. It could be a GPS that confirms you’re far from your hometown, suggests only two or three “blocks” a year, or whatever—I don’t need to be the one who knows the details. As far as Duolingo changes go, it’s a no-brainer.

I pay for Duolingo, but this is one change that will be at the top of the list for many free subscribers. The app introduced a new power system last year, and it couldn’t be a more shameless example of enshitification. Instead of having hearts that you only lose when you make a mistake, you have energy that drains based on lessons that are perfect or not. This means you can only do so many lessons for free each day.

If Duolingo had always been like this, maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal. The problem is that the app set a standard and then lowered it massively like cash, which understandably upset a lot of free users. This forced my colleague Megan to quit the program altogetherand he won’t be alone.

Maybe it made the owners a little more money from subscriptions in the short term, but that’s also short-term thinking. As competitors gain ground in both numbers and innovation, this approach to loyal users can easily backfire. Give it back, please. Some people don’t care about gems, points, or XP-boosting potions – they just want to learn.

Some Duolingo users will want a general introduction to the language, but many will have a specific goal in mind. It could be an upcoming vacation, help talking to customers, or even dating. But it doesn’t matter, because this week Duolingo teaches you to talk about criminals and bank robberies.

There is certainly no reason to carefully choose or control the direction of learning when AI is driving the application. It should focus more on more real-world scenarios relevant to each user or the specific reason for speaking the language.

And while we’re at it, how about the option of learning how to talk about current or upcoming events? The next time I get my hair cut, maybe the barber will want to talk about the soccer world cup in Mexico. It would be great if my version of Duolingo could anticipate this and prepare me with the correct terminology. I doubt he’ll ask me if the duck is under the table.

Far be it from me to ask for more AI in the app, but Duolingo seems to be ignoring the existence of chatbots. It’s 2026, so a top-notch language program should be semi-responsive and ready to help you understand in any way that suits you.

I don’t pay for the “Max” subscription because I’m not interested in AI video calling for extra money, but I’m sure the feedback you get at this level is still limited. The Super level, which is used by most paying users like me, now has an “Explain my answer” button, but it just gives you a fairly textbook reason for how the words on the screen are used or combined.

If I have more questions, I have to pay Duolingo extra. Go to ChatGPT or Gemini and “Can this sentence work in Mexico?” I can ask questions like or “Can you give me three more examples using the same rule?” Duolingo must add this object, otherwise the program that does will skip it.

The last of my Duolingo changes is a bit in the weeds, but that’s a personal bug. As you may have gathered if you’ve read this far, I recently tried to learn some Korean on Duolingo. I was going there to visit my family, but I gave up almost immediately.

The problem was that I wasn’t starting the journey to become fluent in Korean; I just wanted to collect some words and phrases that might come in handy during the week there. However, Korean uses a writing system called Hangul and the characters are completely foreign to a European like me. I’m a visual learner and I had a hard time choosing words based on how they sounded.

Writing the sounds in my native language phonetically would solve that. I understand that if you want to dive in more, it can be a hindrance to learning to type, but many people who are just starting out want to progress step by step. If you can learn how to order coffee or give directions, you’ll be motivated by a sense of accomplishment. I’m surprised Duolingo doesn’t offer this option.

Did I miss something obvious in my summaries? Let me know what changes you would make to Duolingo in the comments.