Does Duolingo track my location?

The Privacy Policy does not explicitly list GPS or continuous location tracking as a data type; location transfers and DPF compliance are referenced.

What personal data does Duolingo collect from my account?

Duolingo collects registration data (username, age, email, phone), profile info, learning progress, and AI interaction text/audio.

How does Duolingo use my data for personalization?

Duolingo personalizes lessons, content, and advertising using learning activity, profile data, and analytics to improve the service.

Who does Duolingo share my data with?

Duolingo shares data with service providers (AWS, Stripe, Zendesk), analytics partners, advertising networks, and AI vendors like OpenAI and Google.

How long does Duolingo keep my data after I delete my account?

Duolingo generally retains personal information until account deletion but may keep certain records longer for legal, fraud, or service reasons.

Does Duolingo profile users or serve targeted ads?

Yes — Duolingo uses behavior and third-party targeting cookies to build profiles and deliver personalized advertising via ad networks.

What tracking methods does Duolingo explicitly use (cookies, pixels, beacons)?

Duolingo uses session ID cookies, targeting cookies (Google/Meta/Amazon), Google Analytics, and tools like FullStory; cookie settings are in the Privacy Preference Center.

How can I opt out of Duolingo advertising or data sharing?

You can opt out of personalized advertising in-app, manage cookie preferences in the Privacy Preference Center, or use device ad ID controls.

How do I delete my Duolingo account and data?

You may delete your account via the app Settings or request access/erasure through the Duolingo Data Vault or privacy@duolingo.com.

Does Duolingo transfer data internationally and what protections apply?

Yes; Duolingo transfers data to the U.S. and relies on frameworks like the EU‑U.S. DPF and Swiss‑U.S. DPF for protections.

What Data Does Duolingo Collect? Privacy Policy Breakdown

Quick Summary

What They Collect: Account, profile, learning progress, AI text/audio, cookies, payment and social contacts.
How They Use & Share It: Personalize learning and ads; share with AI vendors, hosting, analytics, payment, and ad networks.
Your Rights: Access, correct, export, delete data; opt out of personalized ads and manage cookies.

Why You Should Care About Duolingo's Privacy Practices

Duolingo collects AI interaction audio/text used to train models, increasing privacy risk from AI training and model reuse. (privacy policy, AI vendors)
The Terms grant Duolingo broad, perpetual rights to user-submitted content, reducing control over your creations and privacy. (terms of service)
Cross-site tracking and many advertising partners enable targeted ads and profiling across services, affecting privacy and ad personalization. (cookies, ad partners)
Data may be retained beyond account deletion for legal, fraud, or business reasons, so deletion may not remove all copies. (data retention)

Why High Exposure?

Duolingo obtains broad, perpetual rights to user-submitted Activity Materials and Content under the Terms, limiting user control.

The policy shares AI interaction data with OpenAI and Google and uses transcripts for model training and product improvement.

The service uses third-party targeting cookies and many advertising partners for personalized ads and cross-site tracking.

Retention language allows keeping certain information beyond account deletion for legal, security, or business purposes, creating indefinite retention risk.

Learn more about our methodology →

Privacy Highlights

What They Collect

Account information (username, age, email, phone number)
Profile information (name, bio, profile picture, public profile, learning progress, achievements)
User content and files (comments, translations, Activity Materials, Kudos)
Payment information (payments, purchase transaction information processed by third-party processors)
Linked account data / social login info (Google, Facebook data, contacts)
Contact sync data (contacts imported via social login or sync features)
Support data (support interactions via Zendesk and other support providers)
Demographic information (age; child/under-16 treatment)
AI interaction data (text and audio submitted to Video Call/AI features; transcripts/recordings)

How They Share Data

Service providers (hosting, payments, customer support such as AWS, Stripe, Zendesk)
Analytics and measurement partners (Google Analytics, Crashlytics, FullStory)
Advertising partners and ad networks (Unity, Meta, LiftOff, Pangle, Moloco, Google)
AI vendors and speech providers (OpenAI, Google, Apple for speech recognition)
Content moderation vendors (third-party content moderation service providers)
Government authorities and law enforcement (disclosure in response to lawful requests)
Payment processors (third-party payment processors per Terms of Service)

Data Retention

Generally retain personal information until account deletion; may retain certain information longer for service, legal defense, disputes, fraud prevention; anonymous data may be kept indefinitely.

Your Rights

Access data (request copy / know what we collected)
Rectify data (request correction of inaccurate information)
Erase or limit processing (request deletion or limitation)
Object to processing (including objection to sharing)
Data portability / Export (export personal information in electronic format)
Withdraw consent (withdraw previously given consent)
Opt-out of marketing / personalized advertising (in-app settings; device ad ID controls)
Delete account (instructions to delete account and associated data)
Cookie preferences / Privacy Preference Center (manage cookies and targeting settings)
Limit personalization / limit use of sensitive information (request limits)

Detailed Analysis

Concerning Practices

Broad content license / assignment: Users assign Activity Materials and Duolingo claims broad, perpetual, worldwide rights to submitted content
Mandatory arbitration / class-action waiver with limited opt-out (30 days) in Terms of Service
AI training and sharing: text/audio from AI features shared with OpenAI and Google and used to train Duolingo models
Cross-site tracking and targeted advertising via third-party targeting cookies and ad networks (Google, Meta, Unity, Moloco, etc.)
Automated scanning and moderation of Public Profile Information; potential content removal or restriction by Duolingo or vendors
International data transfers to the United States; reliance on Data Privacy Framework (EU‑U.S. DPF, Swiss‑U.S. DPF)
Vague retention exceptions: policy retains data until account deletion, but may keep some data longer for legal, security, or business reasons
Non-user data collection: social login/contact sync can provide contacts (people who may not be Duolingo users)

Personal Data Types

Account information (username, age, email, phone number) Profile information (name, bio, profile picture, public profile, learning progress, achievements) User content and files (comments, translations, Activity Materials, Kudos) Payment information (payments, purchase transaction information processed by third-party processors) Linked account data / social login info (Google, Facebook data, contacts) Contact sync data (contacts imported via social login or sync features) Support data (support interactions via Zendesk and other support providers) Demographic information (age; child/under-16 treatment) AI interaction data (text and audio submitted to Video Call/AI features; transcripts/recordings)

Tracking Methods

session ID cookies (used to confirm logged-in users) Targeting Cookies (including Google, Meta, Amazon targeting cookies) Google Analytics (web analytics using first-party cookies) FullStory (session replay / analytics tool referenced) Privacy Preference Center / Cookie List (user-managed cookie settings referenced)

Third Parties

Service providers (hosting, payments, customer support such as AWS, Stripe, Zendesk) Analytics and measurement partners (Google Analytics, Crashlytics, FullStory) Advertising partners and ad networks (Unity, Meta, LiftOff, Pangle, Moloco, Google) AI vendors and speech providers (OpenAI, Google, Apple for speech recognition) Content moderation vendors (third-party content moderation service providers) Government authorities and law enforcement (disclosure in response to lawful requests) Payment processors (third-party payment processors per Terms of Service)

User Controls

Access data (request copy / know what we collected) Rectify data (request correction of inaccurate information) Erase or limit processing (request deletion or limitation) Object to processing (including objection to sharing) Data portability / Export (export personal information in electronic format) Withdraw consent (withdraw previously given consent) Opt-out of marketing / personalized advertising (in-app settings; device ad ID controls) Delete account (instructions to delete account and associated data) Cookie preferences / Privacy Preference Center (manage cookies and targeting settings) Limit personalization / limit use of sensitive information (request limits)

Duolingo Privacy Summary