Users of Duolingo are upset about the app's latest software update, though the company says it's “more effective from a teaching standpoint.” But there’s likely a bigger motive: increasing profitability of the already popular app. Tim Stenovec explains

@Quicktake @duolingo @timsteno as a neurodiverse student, I find the "better for learning" trail to be completely discriminatory. better for whom? there are so many people who require & appreciate learning diversely, experimentally, & without being forced into a 1 size fits all box.

@Quicktake @Duo_is_sad @duolingo @timsteno Trying to increase profitability by chasing away paying subscribers? Clever move. I've cancelled mine already. @LuisvonAhn can shove his green owl path.

@Quicktake @duolingo @timsteno The update is terrible and the way it’s been handled by the company even worse. They completely destroyed our course records and changed the entire setup we’d already paid for - without even warning, never mind asking, refusing to refund us for the now useless content.

@Quicktake @duolingo @timsteno The app sucks now! Their original goal was to make learning a language fun, easy, and free. Now it's demotivating and penalizes anyone who doesn't pay 80 dollars a year.

@Quicktake @duolingo @timsteno I do believe it is a profitability motive. Served by making a course take longer to complete. I expect that their analytics show them losing users whenever they finish a course. I used the new update for three months and course progress is definitely slower.

@Quicktake @duolingo @timsteno The gap between how active their social media profiles are to how bluntly they ignore and block criticism is overwhelming