just take hundreds of dollars off your card with no consent and no way to get it back
- about billing
Captured on . See reviews on the App Store
DuolingoEarly signal
People who cancelled a trial were billed for the year anyway
3 people raised this across 3 weeks, on both iOS and Android.
iPhone and Android users in Australia, the United States and Canada, across two app versions.
In their own words
Neither app store gives a review a permanent public link, so each entry is a snapshot taken on the date shown and the link goes to the app's review listing.
Signed up for a free trial to stop the ads and was immediately charged 189 for the whole year
- about billing
Captured on . See reviews on the App Store
I believed your one week free trial and cancelled it 2 days before. but then I noticed I have been charged for 1 year subscription
- about billing
- described a workaround
Captured on . See reviews on Google Play
What people do instead
- request a refund through the app store rather than the app
What you could do with this
These four are written from the reviews above. Everything else on this page is quoted or counted.
written
BUILD IT
A trial that names the charge date and the amount before it starts, and again before it lands.
See how3 points
- Send the reminder from the app, not only from the store
- Show the cancellation state the store holds, so the two cannot disagree
- Confirm a cancellation in writing at the moment it is made
Why it might not workThe billing relationship belongs to the app store, and the app cannot always see or change what it did.
written
START IT
A subscription record kept outside whoever is selling the subscription.
See how2 points
- Reads the store receipt rather than the seller’s own dashboard
- Warns before any trial converts, across everything at once
Why it might not workReceipt access is granted by the store and can be withdrawn, and trials converting quietly is what the stores earn from.
written
STUDY IT
How many people who believe they cancelled were still charged?
See how2 points
- Compare the store’s cancellation record with what people report doing
- Separate a mistimed cancellation from one that never registered
Why it might not workOnly the store holds the ground truth on either side, and it does not publish it.
written
WRITE IT
The week between cancelling and being charged for the year.
See how2 points
- Follow one refusal through the app, the store and the card
- Quote the reviewer who cancelled two days early and paid anyway
Why it might not workEvery subscription story reads the same way until the receipts are actually in it.
Related challenges
Duolingo
People lose a daily streak when the lesson will not load
it also won't load kana or other character / writing lessons
Build itA lesson that is fully on the device before it starts.
Start itOffline-first practice for people with unreliable connections.
Study itDoes an outage break a learning habit, or only pause it?
Write itGamified learning that punishes you for its own outage.
Reported repeatedly
Duolingo
People are interrupted mid-lesson by prompts they cannot close
Duo now forces users to use AI
Build itEvery interruption carries a close control, and it is tested.
Start itNot a company. This is a policy question, not a product gap.
Study itDoes an undismissable prompt change lesson completion?
Write itLearning interrupted by the thing that sells you learning.
Reported repeatedly
Duolingo
People run out of energy before they finish two lessons
my app is broken and it's putting me at a huge disadvantage
Build itA free tier metered by time practised rather than by mistakes made.
Start itPractice software where the daily amount is fixed and paid for once.
Study itWhat happens to a practice habit when a meter sets the session length?
Write itThe lesson that stops in the middle of itself.
Early signal