Duolingo Energy System Locks Users Out After Three Perfect Lessons

Duolingo replaced its hearts system with an energy mechanic that drains whether you answer correctly or incorrectly. Free users get locked out after as few as three lessons, waiting 18 hours or watching ads to continue. A Reddit thread summed it up: "So now we're punished for using the app?" and pulled nearly 3,000 upvotes. Long-term Hacker News discussion (251 pts, 310 comments) criticizes the broader gamification-over-learning philosophy. Users with 750+ day streaks are switching to alternatives.

Product Idea from this Signal

A mobile app that detects and removes AI-generated tracks from your Spotify playlists before you hear them

9.1k ▲

Spotify's Discover Weekly and Release Radar are being flooded with AI-generated music at a rate of roughly 20,000 tracks per day (about 18% of all new uploads). Spotify removed 75 million spam tracks in one year yet refuses to add any native user filter. A 2,900-engagement feature request on Spotify's own community board has been open for years with no response. This app connects to a user's Spotify account via OAuth, scans their personalized playlists and Liked Songs, cross-references tracks against a crowdsourced plus ML-detected AI-music database, and lets users auto-remove, quarantine, or soft-label suspected AI tracks before playback. The core value is restoring the integrity of algorithmic discovery playlists that users already pay for.

spotifyai-musicmusic-streamingmobile-appconsumer-appenshittificationplaylist-curationsubscription

Competitive194 leadsView Opportunity →

Score Breakdown

3,250

561

Social Proof 2 sources

So now we are punished for using the app? (Duolingo energy system)

7/1/2025

3,250 HN

An opinionated critique of Duolingo | Hacker News

agnishom · 10/7/2025

561

Gap Assessment

UnderservedExisting solutions leave gaps

No major language learning app has cracked frictionless daily practice without gamification paywalls. Alternatives like Anki and Babbel exist but lack Duolingo-level UX.

Virality Score

3,811

across 0 platforms

Details

Signalissue

Ecosystemmobile_app

Sources2

Platforms0

Updated2h ago

Trend→ stable

Top ideas

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0A mobile app that detects and removes AI-generated tracks from your Spotify playlists before you hear them 0A web app that tracks AI coding tool spend across Copilot, Claude Code, and Cursor, normalized per commit and per PR 0A browser extension that monitors installed extensions for ownership transfers, permission scope changes, and suspicious outbound data requests in real time

Related signals

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18.5KiOS 26 Update Triggers Mass Battery Drain Complaints Across iPhone 13-16 Lineup 12.3KApple Intelligence Notification Summaries Generate False Headlines, BBC Calls for Removal 2.9KSpotify Flooded with AI-Generated Tracks Ruining Discover Weekly and Release Radar