Duolingo's April Fools' Day prank is way too real
There is no escape from Duo the Duolingo Owl. So you better open the app and hit your target language goals... or else.
Recently the Duolingo Twitter account shared a teaser image for an upcoming app update that the internet thought was uh, pretty ominous for a cute little owl that just wants you to learn French.
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This caused everyone to be terrified that Duo the owl was going to be breaking down our doors, watching us while we sleep, and making us beg for our lives in Spanish.
But with Duolingo's latest "update" for April Fools' Day, it's clear that he's not here to hurt us — he's just here to give us a slightly-less-than-gentle push to practice in real life with Duolingo Push.
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The Duolingo Push webpage reads, "Duolingo's new, in-person notifications can find you wherever you are. Ignore at your own risk."
Yup, totally not intimidating at all. There's absolutely nothing more encouraging than having a giant, green owl stare you down in the middle of a date until you practice Korean for five minutes.
Duolingo Push also gives you the "option" to chose which kind of owl will "bug you" in real life. There's the "Encouraging Duo," the "Passive-Aggressive Duo," and for the low, low price of $100 a month, the "Disappointed Duo."
There's no excuse now. The only option we have to is to practice, because Duo is already on his way.
Of course this is all an April Fools' Day prank, but the fear of Duo is very real.
Sage is the newest Culture writer on the block at Mashable NYC. They recently graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, and have previously worked for The Dr. Oz Show, NorthSouth Productions, and on Netflix's 'The OA Part II'. Off the clock, they can be found testing out cupcake recipes, collecting dolls, and watching Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure for the millionth time.
