We’re only a couple days away from the potential ban of the popular video sharing app TikTok from the U.S. We’ve seen content creators and content consumers looking for ways to cope with it. So far, hundreds of thousands of people have migrated to RedNote, a similar app. Well, another app is getting attention; Duolingo is experiencing a surge in popularity because of the TikTok ban.
If you don’t know what Duolingo is, it’s an app that teaches you another language. It uses a fun interface, animations, an adorable little character, and short digestible quizzes. It was a pretty popular app before all of this drama. You can download the app for free on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Duolingo is seeing a surge amid the TikTok ban
Why is this app suddenly seeing a rush in popularity? Well, Rednote is a Chinese app. Moreover, the company doesn’t make region-specific versions of the app. If you download it in the U.S., you’re getting the same version that Chinese users are getting. As such, many of the users hastily downloading the app are being met with “小红书. 你的生活指南”. Because of this, people are traveling to the most popular language app that they know of.
Duolingo saw a jump in downloads, and that’s an understatement. According to Techcrunch, the app saw a growth of 216% just in mid-January. It’s been leapfrogging the ranks on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Across both stores, the app saw 36% more downloads as per Appfigures‘ report. Also, the app is now ranked as #22 in Top Apps (this list doesn’t include games) and #20 in Top Apps (including games). Before, it was in the 40s for bothe categories.
Duolingo’s response
The app developer has taken a lighthearted approach to the situation. The company made a post on X.com with the text “oh so NOW you’re learning mandarin”. Along with that, it posted a TikTok video showing the company’s mascot, the green owl, heading onto a plane. The video has the text “me because I’d rather move to China & learn Mandarin on Duolingo.”
So, it’s obvious that the company sees this as a prime opportunity to capitalize on the new publicity and make waves for the people who are counting down the days. It looks like Duolingo is set to profit from the situation.
