Duolingo takes screen time limits to the next level by blocking other apps until you finish studying

Duolingo may be dialing back its “unhinged” marketing strategy, but it is still developing eclectic, unique features that set it apart from other apps. Its Focus Mode is a particularly clever idea. By preventing users from accessing other apps until they’ve finished their studies, Duolingo keeps its language learners on task while also grabbing more screen time for itself.

When a Duolingo user turns on Focus Mode, they choose any number of apps to affect and set the number of lessons they wish to complete. Until those tasks are done, the selected apps will appear greyed out on the user’s home screen. Focus Mode, of course, is completely optional. If you must use one of the blocked apps, you can override your settings on Duolingo.

We’ve seen screen time limits on apps before. Instagram users can program a pop-up that cuts off their scrolling after a set period of time, while YouTube offers its community many different ways to take a mandated break.

Duolingo’s twist on that feature, which it began testing earlier this year, is interesting for a few reasons. A productivity aid built on the Apple API acknowledges that minimizing distractions isn’t about taking a break from a single app. If you really want to focus, you need to cut yourself off from social media entirely.

By interacting with other apps, Duolingo’s focus mode also subtly advantages its home app. After all, if you can’t access your other distractions, Duolingo becomes that much stickier, even if it features an owl yelling at you about your Mandarin proficiency.

“In an era where every app fights tooth-and-nail for screen time, Duolingo just flipped the script,” reads one review of Focus Mode. “Instead of begging for your attention, it’s taking your distractions hostage until you pay the language-learning ransom.”

Given its uneven share price, Duolingo could use that extra jolt of user attention. Perhaps the app’s future is as an anti-distraction tool. If you try to learn a really difficult language like Hungarian or Basque, you could end up being far more productive than you ever thought possible.