How to Delete a Course in Duolingo (And What You Should Know First)
Duolingo makes it easy to start learning a new language — sometimes a little too easy. A few taps and you're enrolled in Portuguese, Klingon, or High Valyrian before you've finished your morning coffee. But removing a course you no longer want? That's where things get less obvious. The process exists, but it's buried, and it works differently depending on your device and account type.
Here's exactly how it works, what the limitations are, and why your specific setup matters.
What "Deleting a Course" Actually Means in Duolingo
Before diving into steps, it helps to understand Duolingo's terminology. The app doesn't use the word "delete" in its interface — it calls the action removing or resetting a course, and these are two different things:
- Removing a course eliminates it from your active language list entirely. Your progress is wiped.
- Resetting a course keeps the language on your list but wipes your progress, sending you back to the beginning.
Both actions are permanent and irreversible. Duolingo does not offer a way to archive a course or pause it while preserving your streak and XP within that language. Once removed, that course's progress — including crowns, XP, and lesson history — is gone.
How to Remove a Course on the Duolingo Website 🖥️
The most reliable way to remove a course is through the Duolingo website (duolingo.com), not the mobile app. The mobile apps have historically offered limited account management options compared to the browser version.
Steps:
- Log in to your Duolingo account at duolingo.com
- Click your profile icon in the top-right corner
- Select Settings from the dropdown menu
- Navigate to the Learning Language section (sometimes labeled Course Settings)
- Switch to the course you want to remove by selecting it from the language menu
- Look for the option to Reset or Remove Language
- Choose Remove (not Reset, unless you want to keep the course but start over)
- Confirm the action when prompted
The exact label placement can shift with Duolingo's frequent interface updates, but the path through Settings → Learning Language → Reset or Remove Language has remained consistent.
How to Remove a Course on Mobile (iOS and Android) 📱
On the mobile app, the process is slightly different and more limited depending on your app version:
- Open the Duolingo app and tap your profile icon (bottom navigation bar)
- Tap the Settings gear icon (usually in the top-right of your profile screen)
- Tap Learning Language or your current language flag
- Select See all courses or the course you want to manage
- Look for Remove or Reset options beneath the course listing
Important caveat: Not all mobile app versions display the Remove option directly. If you don't see it, switching to a browser on your phone or using a desktop browser is the more reliable path. Duolingo has rolled out interface changes at different times across iOS and Android, so what's visible in one version may not appear in another.
Resetting vs. Removing: Choosing the Right Action
| Action | Keeps Course on List | Preserves Progress | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reset | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | Starting over in a language you still want to study |
| Remove | ❌ No | ❌ No | Clearing a language you don't want at all |
If you're studying Spanish but enrolled in Italian by mistake, Remove is what you want. If you started French two years ago, got to Unit 4, and want a clean restart, Reset fits better.
Neither option affects your other active courses, your overall Duolingo streak, or your account's XP total from other languages.
What Doesn't Get Deleted
Removing a course does not delete your Duolingo account. Your profile, streak (tied to your overall daily activity, not one course), Gems or Lingots, and any other active language courses remain intact.
It also doesn't affect your Duolingo Plus or Super Duolingo subscription status. If you're a paying subscriber, removing a course is purely a content management action.
A Few Variables That Affect Your Experience
The process described above applies to standard free and paid Duolingo accounts, but a few factors can change what you see:
- App version: Duolingo updates frequently. The Settings menu layout on version X may differ from version Y. If options seem missing, check for an app update first.
- Account type: Some features behave differently on older accounts created before certain interface overhauls.
- Operating system: iOS and Android apps don't always receive interface updates simultaneously. The same removal option might appear on Android before iOS, or vice versa.
- School or classroom accounts: If your Duolingo account is linked to a Duolingo for Schools classroom, your teacher or administrator may control which courses are available to you. In that case, you may not be able to remove a course independently — that would need to go through whoever manages the classroom.
Why the Mobile App vs. Browser Difference Matters
Duolingo has consistently kept more granular account controls on the web version than on mobile. This is a deliberate product decision — the mobile app is optimized for daily lesson flow, not account management. If you're trying to remove a course and hitting a wall in the app, that's not a bug. Switching to a browser resolves it for most users.
The gap between what different users experience comes down to which version of the app they're running, which platform they're on, and whether their account has any classroom or family plan restrictions attached to it. For a straightforward personal account on an up-to-date app, the process is quick. For accounts with external management or older app versions, the path to removal takes a detour through the browser.
Understanding your own account setup — how it was created, whether it's tied to an institution, and which platform you're primarily using — is the piece that determines which of these paths actually applies to you.