{
  "id": 11892165,
  "title": "I tried Duolingo for the first time in a year, and it’s worse than I thought",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/i-tried-duolingo-for-the-first-time-in-a-year-and-its-worse-than-i",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-04T09:30:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Android Authority",
    "slug": "android-authority",
    "url": "https://www.androidauthority.com/using-duolingo-after-one-year-bad-alternatives-3717701/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former regular Duolingo user recounts the app's decline in quality and user experience. After uninstalling, the author decides to give Duolingo another try ahead of a European trip. Upon returning, they discover an overwhelming number of ads, new unrelated features, and aggressive upselling of paid subscription tiers. The author struggles to resume their previous progress and instead seeks an alternative language-learning app. They find Gemini, praising its flexibility and lack of daily pressure. Gemini's strengths include its responsiveness and customizable study plans, but it lacks built-in voice lessons. Despite its limitations, the author keeps Duolingo for supplementary lessons, using both apps together to supplement their German learning.",
  "summary": "This isn't the Duolingo I remember.",
  "key_points": [
    "Former Duolingo user finds app quality and experience declined.",
    "App now overwhelming with ads, new features, aggressive upselling.",
    "Author switches to Gemini, praising its flexibility and customizable plans."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}