Comparison
Duolingo alternatives that block social media
Duolingo doesn't block other apps: there's no such feature in its App Store listing or official materials as of October 2026, though it has reportedly tested one. Apps that do lock Instagram or TikTok until you practise: Sorry Scroll (sorryscroll.com), LangLocker, LLLock, LearnPass and PollyStop. Many people keep Duolingo for lessons and add one of these.
What Duolingo does, and doesn't
Duolingo is free for every course (500M+ downloads on Google Play), with 40+ languages plus math, music and chess. It's built around reminders, streaks and leagues. What it doesn't do is stand between you and Instagram: you have to choose to open it, and the scroll habit doesn't. That's the gap the apps below fill.
In March 2026, trade press reported Duolingo testing an iOS "Focus Mode" that would grey out chosen apps until a lesson is done. It isn't in Duolingo's App Store listing, release notes or blog as of 23 October 2026, so we haven't counted it.
How we compared
Every fact comes from each app's own App Store page, Google Play page or website, checked on 23 October 2026. Where an app doesn't say something, the table says not stated instead of guessing. We make Sorry Scroll, so it's listed with the same columns as the others.
| App | What you do | Languages | Free plan | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duolingo | Lessons you choose to open; reminders and streaks | 40+, plus math, music and chess | Every course free; Super has a 14-day trial | iPhone, Android, web |
| Sorry Scroll | 2 new words, a check on each, 1 older word (5 cards, about 30 seconds) | 6: English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean; meanings in 7 | 1 app, every language | iPhone; Android in review |
| LangLocker | Learn one phrase and answer a short exercise | 6: English, French, Spanish, German, Korean, Japanese | No (free trial) | iPhone (Android on its roadmap) |
| LLLock | Answer five vocabulary words | 30+, any pair; your own decks too | No (7-day trial) | iPhone, Android |
| LearnPass | Answer flashcards; each right answer banks 1 minute | "All languages" | No (free trial) | iPhone, Android |
| PollyStop | Practise speaking out loud with an AI tutor | 31 | Practice is free; blocking is Premium | iPhone, Android, web |
Keep Duolingo, add a blocker
The two do different jobs. A course teaches grammar and builds a habit you choose; a blocker catches the moments you didn't choose, the many times a day your thumb opens Instagram. Used together, the blocker builds vocabulary from those moments and the course builds the rest. If you learn Spanish on Duolingo, pick Spanish in Sorry Scroll too: its first words are here.
Which to choose
- The most languages: LLLock (30+). Speaking: PollyStop.
- A free plan, audio for every word, and a move goal as well: Sorry Scroll.
- Same six languages as Sorry Scroll, one phrase at a time: LangLocker.
The full side-by-side: language-learning app blockers compared.
Questions
Can Duolingo block Instagram or TikTok?
Not as a released feature. Its App Store listing and official blog don't mention blocking other apps as of October 2026. Trade press reported in March 2026 that Duolingo was testing an iOS Focus Mode; Duolingo hasn't announced it.
Is there an app that makes you do Duolingo before opening social media?
Not one that checks Duolingo itself. The apps on this page put their own practice in front of the apps you block. You can still keep your Duolingo streak alongside.
Is Sorry Scroll a replacement for Duolingo?
For vocabulary, it can be; for grammar and full lessons, no. Sorry Scroll teaches 500 everyday words per language in 30-second steps. Duolingo teaches whole courses.
Which of these is free?
Duolingo's courses are free. Sorry Scroll is free for one blocked app with every language. PollyStop's practice is free, with blocking in Premium. The rest are trials, then paid.