{"id":111125,"date":"2026-01-19T11:57:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/01\/19\/youre-not-going-crazy-duolingo-is-gaslighting-you\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:59:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:59:18","slug":"youre-not-going-crazy-duolingo-is-gaslighting-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/01\/19\/youre-not-going-crazy-duolingo-is-gaslighting-you\/","title":{"rendered":"You’re not going crazy, Duolingo is gaslighting you"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n

For a very long time, I assumed I used to be shedding my thoughts. Typically, once I open the Duolingo app, the variety of Quest Factors is decrease than I bear in mind having the day earlier than. I used to be satisfied I have to be imagining issues, however it seems that that is taking place to different individuals, too.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n I would earned 47 of my 50 Quest Factors
\n <\/h2>\n

In the Duolingo app<\/a>, you possibly can earn Quest Factors by finishing quests. These are issues akin to finishing three good classes or utilizing Duolingo for quarter-hour. In case you earn sufficient Quest Factors in a month, you are rewarded with a badge.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"The\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

There had been a number of events up to now the place I used to be certain that I would earned extra Quest Factors than Duolingo was displaying, however the distinction was solely some extent or two, so I may by no means be fully certain that I hadn’t simply misremembered. This week, nonetheless, the distinction was too massive to be missed.<\/p>\n

I would accomplished a Buddies Quest with my mother-in-law, and we would each earned 5 Quest Factors for doing so. I clearly bear in mind having 47 factors and pondering that if I accomplished all three quests the next day, I would hit my goal of fifty Quest Factors and earn this month’s badge.<\/p>\n

\n\"Duolingo\n <\/picture>\n

\n
\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tDuolingo Will Now Teach You How to Play Games, Too
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/h5>\n

Test-mate.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The following day, I used to be right down to 42 Quest Factors
\n <\/h2>\n

Once I opened Duolingo the next morning to earn the ultimate three factors that I wanted, I used to be very irritated to see that my Quest Factors complete was displaying as 42. This was a full 5 factors fewer than I anticipated. I used to be now not doubting my very own sanity; Duolingo was gaslighting me by telling me I had a unique variety of factors than I would really earned.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"The\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

My Quest Factors complete had dropped by a full 5 factors in a single day, which was the precise quantity that I would earned by finishing the Buddies Quest. All the trouble that I would put into finishing the required variety of good classes had been an entire waste, as Duolingo had fortunately robbed me of these factors.<\/p>\n

Now that I knew that I wasn’t going loopy, I questioned if there have been different individuals experiencing the identical subject. I jumped on Reddit<\/a> and searched through<\/a> the Duolingo subreddit.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n I am not the one individual that is taking place to
\n <\/h2>\n

It got here as no shock in any respect that there have been a number of Reddit posts<\/a> about this subject. Posts with titles akin to “My quest factors disappeared???”, “Month-to-month quest factors go down?”, “Why am I shedding quest factors?”, “Why does Duolingo steal quest factors from me?”, and “Robbed of 8 quest factors this month” are filled with feedback and screenshots from individuals experiencing precisely the identical subject.<\/p>\n

It appears that evidently I am not the one one that Duolingo is gaslighting by displaying me what number of factors I’ve earned solely to take a few of them away. Fortunately, individuals on Reddit have stored the receipts and taken screenshots<\/a> confirming that their factors have gone down from someday to the subsequent. We’re not going loopy; Duolingo is solely stealing our factors.<\/p>\n

Some poor customers have even had the issue occur on the final day of the month. After being awarded the badge for reaching 50 factors, the subsequent day, they’re again right down to 49 factors, and the badge now not exists. With no days left within the month, they have not been in a position to earn the extra level wanted to get the badge again.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The issue isn\u2019t restricted to these utilizing a number of gadgets
\n <\/h2>\n

There’s some debate in the comments<\/a> of those Reddit posts about the issue being precipitated when individuals use Duolingo on a number of gadgets. In case you earn Quest Factors in your telephone, for instance, after which do some classes on a pc, it’s possible you’ll earn greater than the utmost of three Quest Factors you possibly can earn in a day, and that is the explanation that some factors are disappearing.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"The\n <\/picture>Credit score:\u00a0Duolingo<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It is a good concept, however sadly, it is not the trigger. I solely ever do Duolingo on my telephone, and I’ve misplaced factors a number of instances. Different Reddit customers who solely ever use one machine have additionally skilled the difficulty.<\/p>\n

Essentially the most irritating half is that a number of Reddit customers declare to have messaged Duolingo about the issue and have not acquired any response. The earliest confirmed publish I may discover of this taking place was from October 2025, so this is not a brand new subject; it has been ongoing for a number of months.<\/p>\n

Duolingo already made the app infinitely worse<\/a> by introducing a brand new vitality system that limits what number of classes you possibly can full totally free, even in case you get each query proper. This Quest Level subject is simply one other symptom of the gradual decline of what was as soon as an awesome app.<\/p>\n\n

Enshittification is a sad fact of life<\/a>, with only a few apps and companies resistant to it. It is exhausting to remain motivated to make use of an app that retains providing you with rewards after which taking them away once more, even when this is not carried out deliberately. In case you’ve had sufficient of being lied to by Duolingo about what number of Quest Factors you have really earned, you would possibly wish to take into account some free language-learning alternatives<\/a> that will not make you consider you are shedding your thoughts.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n