Duolingo’s sick owl icon might just be another marketing tactic to make users complete their lessons!

The icon change hasn't affected the performance of Duolingo app.

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Since the language-learning app Duolingo changed its regular icon to show the mascot looking sick, old, and tired, many users have asked why the company suddenly changed its look. Later, the company revealed they had made Duo, the green owl, sick to grab the user’s attention.

Previously, the app’s icon featured Duo as a young owl in a jolly mood. The app was a hit even before its official launch, and within a month, 300,000 people had signed up on a waitlist.

Moreover, their content game spiked after they launched their TikTok channel in early 2021. A human-sized Duo posted videos on this channel mainly about language-related partnerships with other influencers.

Slowly, Duo began to adopt some traits, with sarcastic comment replies and satirical posts about celebrity gossip and current events, earning their account over 12.8 million followers and an average likes of 299 million likes.

As of 2024, the language app has over 500 million registered users, who were surprised when the app icon featured a sick and old owl.

However, this isn’t the first time Duolingo has changed its looks. Previously, the owl appeared to be a baby once, while another design featured a melting Duo.

A quick analysis of the change revealed that it is one of the company’s tactics to prompt users to open the app. A sudden change in the icon has indeed caused curiosity among many.

Duo claimed they grew old as users took too long to finish their daily tasks!

Soon after changing the Duolingo icon to a sick bird, users opened the app to see if there were new updates or content, as the team described the effect as a novelty effect.

Such a strategy can temporarily increase engagement and motivation, as other apps, such as Snapchat, have done by adding red and yellow dots to their Bitmoji feature.

As attention on the new icon grew, the app’s downloads also increased, and the official Duolingo pages added several posts to the joke. In one of their recent tweets, Duolingo captioned a picture of dolphins, edited to look like Duo, as, “end your streak and I’ll end you.

@duolingo it looks so tired 🙁 #teenagefeatures #duolingo #languagelearning ♬ original sound – 00.13.h

Further, another post claimed that no one will remember a person’s salary or how many hours they’ve worked. Instead, Duo detailed that the ding of a correct answer, daily streak, and whether they could say, “I’m eating bread and crying on the floor” in high valerian mattered more in life, referring to various features of their learning app.

As usual, some of the app’s daily users have criticized such actions, complaining about the unnecessary bait. One user wrote on Twitter, “It looks like one of those gross, up-close shots in SpongeBob.

Many users speculated that the icon would return to normal if they completed their task, but that wasn’t the case. Duolingo seems to keep the sick icon for a while so that people can talk about it on social platforms.

Additional Information

  • Duolingo offers lessons in 30+ languages, including the language from Game of Thrones, and has added maths and music lessons.
  • A review of research from 2012 to 2020 revealed that Duolingo has maintained user satisfaction, enjoyment, and positive perception, making it one of the most popular language learning apps.
  • Duolingo has launched subscription features where generative AI has been used to enhance the lessons.
Simran Silpakar
Simran Silpakar
Simran is a passionate undergrad student with a deep love for movies and anime. When not hitting the books, she can be found exploring the captivating narratives of anime and movies. Through her writing, she provides insightful and engaging content for fellow enthusiasts.

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