Decoupling streaks from daily goals: Duolingo's A/B test

The bottom line

Duolingo let learners keep a streak by finishing one lesson a day, whatever their daily goal, and the number of learners on a 7+ day streak rose by over 40%. Making streaks easier to hold reduces pressure and helps retention.

Key takeaways

• Streaks no longer depend on the daily goal. One lesson a day is enough to keep a streak alive.
  • Before, users had to meet their full daily learning goal to keep a streak.
• The old rule penalized ambitious learners. A high goal made the streak harder to keep.
• The change made long streaks far more common. Lower pressure made streaks more achievable.
  • Learners on a 7+ day streak increased by over 40%.

The test: decoupling streaks from daily goals

Duolingo separated the streak from the daily goal so that a single lesson keeps the streak.

• The old design tied streaks to daily goals.
  • Users had to hit their set goal each day to maintain a streak.
  • This could be daunting for users with higher goals.
• The new design asks for one lesson per day.
  • The streak is preserved regardless of the goal the user has set.
  • The aim was to reduce pressure and make streaks more achievable, especially for learners with ambitious goals.

Result

The redesign sharply increased the share of learners holding longer streaks.

• The number of learners on a 7+ day streak rose by over 40%.
  • The test sat in the user engagement and retention category.