Duolingo · Duolingo Terms of Service · View original document ↗

Liability Cap

Medium severity Medium confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Rare · 5 of 325 platforms
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Document Record

What it is

Duolingo limits its total legal liability to you to either $100 or whatever you paid Duolingo in the past year, whichever is higher, and disclaims responsibility for lost data, third-party conduct, and indirect harms.

This analysis describes what Duolingo's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The aggregate liability cap of $100 or 12 months of fees means that users have limited financial recourse against Duolingo even in the event of significant harm such as data loss or unauthorized access to account content.

Interpretive note: Enforceability of the liability cap varies by jurisdiction; EU, UK, and some US state consumer protection laws may limit or override contractual liability exclusions for certain categories of harm.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Even if users suffer material harm, such as loss of personal data or account access, the maximum amount Duolingo is contractually obligated to pay is $100 or the total fees paid in the prior 12 months, whichever is greater; for free-tier users this cap is $100.

How other platforms handle this

Anthropic Medium

Except as stated in Section L.3.b, the liability of each party, and its affiliates and licensors, for any damages arising out of or related to these Terms (i) excludes damages that are consequential, incidental, special, indirect, or exemplary damages, including lost profits, business, contracts, re...

Fitbit Medium

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF FITBIT, AND ITS SUPPLIERS AND DISTRIBUTORS, FOR ANY CLAIMS UNDER THESE TERMS, INCLUDING FOR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US TO USE THE SERVICES (OR, IF WE CHOOSE, TO SUPPLYING YOU THE SERVICES AGAIN) DURING THE TWELV...

Craigslist Medium

To the full extent permitted by law, craigslist, Inc., and its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, affiliates, and successors in interest ("CL Entities") (1) make no promises, warranties, or representations as to CL, including its completeness, accuracy, availability, timeliness, prop...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, DUOLINGO SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS OR REVENUES, WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, OR ANY LOSS OF DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, RESULTING FROM (i) YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES; (ii) ANY CONDUCT OR CONTENT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES; (iii) ANY CONTENT OBTAINED FROM THE SERVICES; OR (iv) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS, USE OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR CONTENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL DUOLINGO'S AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICES EXCEED THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE AMOUNTS YOU HAVE PAID DUOLINGO IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS.

— Excerpt from Duolingo's Duolingo Terms of Service

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Liability limitation clauses in consumer contracts may be subject to challenge under state consumer protection laws, the EU Unfair Contract Terms Directive, and the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015, which may prohibit or limit exclusions of liability for certain types of consumer harm. The FTC Act's prohibition on unfair or deceptive practices is also relevant. GDPR Article 82 separately provides data subjects with the right to compensation for material or non-material damage resulting from GDPR violations, which operates independently of contractual liability caps. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The $100 floor is notably low relative to the potential value of personal data and learning progress accumulated by long-term users, and the disclaimer of liability for data loss and unauthorized access to transmissions is operationally significant given Duolingo's history of a data breach affecting millions of users. The disclaimer of liability for third-party conduct on the platform is standard but operationally notable for a platform with community and social features. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU and UK consumer protection law may render the liability cap unenforceable for certain categories of consumer harm. California residents may have rights under CCPA that operate independently of contractual limitations. The $100 cap may be particularly scrutinized in jurisdictions with strong consumer protection frameworks. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Enterprise or institutional customers should assess whether the standard liability cap in the consumer terms of service applies to their use case, or whether separate contractual terms with higher liability thresholds are available. Procurement teams should flag the $100 aggregate cap as potentially inadequate for organizational deployments. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should evaluate whether the liability cap and disclaimer of data loss liability are enforceable in EU and UK jurisdictions given applicable consumer protection frameworks, and whether GDPR Article 82 compensation rights are clearly preserved for EEA users.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has jurisdiction over unfair or deceptive practices in consumer contracts, relevant to liability caps that may effectively preclude consumer recovery for material harm.
    File a complaint →
  • State AG
    State Attorneys General may have jurisdiction over consumer protection claims where contractual liability limitations are asserted against state consumer protection rights.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal

Provision details

Document information
Document
Duolingo Terms of Service
Entity
Duolingo
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 18, 2026
Last verified
May 12, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-011172
Document ID
CA-D-00085
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
d19834a28338bd25c025cefc24f18f933e0381108cf4fd3784c6e64a4a6f59fb
Analysis generated
April 18, 2026 09:26 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Duolingo
Document: Duolingo Terms of Service
Record ID: CA-P-011172
Captured: 2026-04-18 09:26:58 UTC
SHA-256: d19834a28338bd25…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/duolingo/duolingo-terms-of-service/liability-cap/
Accessed: May 13, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Duolingo's Liability Cap clause do?

The aggregate liability cap of $100 or 12 months of fees means that users have limited financial recourse against Duolingo even in the event of significant harm such as data loss or unauthorized access to account content.

How does this clause affect you?

Even if users suffer material harm, such as loss of personal data or account access, the maximum amount Duolingo is contractually obligated to pay is $100 or the total fees paid in the prior 12 months, whichever is greater; for free-tier users this cap is $100.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 5 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Duolingo?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Duolingo.