#they used to be considered the best language app for a reason theres a reason they became synonymous with language learning. and what are-

[littlefoxwithbighat]

So, so disappointed and annoyed that duolingo has gotten rid of the option to practice for hearts and replaced it with only ads. If you're a learner and you mess up (which you know. It happens, you make mistakes. That's how you know you're learning and not just copying, and people have jobs and school and sicknesses and get tired or forget things between breaks) you have to watch 5 ads to get up to full hearts, and theyre quite long! And you have no other option really especially if the lesson is hard with the way the app is set up.

The practice for hearts option was something i really valued when i wanted a change of pace from learning difficult materials, or i was very sick and tired and just wanted to keep up my progress and streak or I knew i needed a general vocabulary refresh. It was practical and gave me more choice in using the app, and made losing all my hearts feel like addional motivation, rather than a gambling mechanic where I have to pay-to-win by sitting through 2 minutes of terrible mobile ads.

Plus, I believe they have changed hearts to regenerate much more slowly (I did my lesson about the same time yesterday, and I still only had 3 hearts! They should regenerate to full over the course of 24 hours at a MAXIMUM any longer is ridiculous!??? It's counterintuitive to the point of learning. So it puts you in a position when non paying users are almost guaranteed to have to watch at least 2 ads. I dont mind the preroll ads but and postroll ads. You know, I get that they're ultimately a business. But this is supposed to be an app where anybody, including students can quickly take 5 minutes to learn a language. If you count pre-roll and postroll and assume 2 ads minimum for hearts, you have to spend at least 5 minutes on ads alone. Thats DOUBLING your lesson time with something that adds no value.

I was already disappointed they'd removed (and seem to keep removing) mistake explanations, either getting rid of them entirely or locking them behind paywalls but. Man. This is a whole new level of low. I wish this company would treat its users with the level of respect and care they used to, rather than spending their money on advertising campaingns and publicity stunts their base users dont care about, and priorities app numbers and funelling people into the paid version rather than having a reliable, good product.