duō lín guó

多邻国

miǎn fèi

免费

shì yòng

试用

yǐn fā

引发

kòu fèi

扣费

zhēng yì

争议

Recently, Duolingo, a foreign-language learning app used by many people, has drawn attention.

Many users say that after choosing a seven-day free membership trial, they received no reminder and were charged several hundred yuan for an annual membership.

Some users said they thought they would be notified before the trial ended, but the app charged them directly without any reminder.

One university student was charged more than 500 yuan without knowing it. Although the student successfully received a refund, they decided to uninstall the app and stop using it.

Many users have also said that the free version of Duolingo now has more and more ads. An ad appears after each unit, affecting the learning experience.

In response, a lawyer said that free trials combined with automatic renewal are not illegal in themselves, but software companies must remind users in advance.

According to regulations, during the five days before a charge is made, the platform should clearly inform consumers by text message or push notification, and it must provide a simple and convenient way to cancel.

The lawyer especially reminded everyone that deleting an app does not mean canceling a subscription.

If you do not plan to continue using it, be sure to turn off automatic renewal in your phone settings or payment account.

When starting a free trial, people should also read the rules carefully and protect their financial security.