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
The liability cap defines the maximum financial exposure Duolingo assumes under the service agreement and restricts the categories of compensable harm to direct damages only. This structure allocates risk by excluding indirect and consequential losses from recovery, which are often the largest components of claimed damages in service disruption scenarios.
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.
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.
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"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
(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.
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The liability cap defines the maximum financial exposure Duolingo assumes under the service agreement and restricts the categories of compensable harm to direct damages only. This structure allocates risk by excluding indirect and consequential losses from recovery, which are often the largest components of claimed damages in service disruption scenarios.
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.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 6 platforms. See the full comparison.
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