I became a Duolingo Free user in 2015. Actually back then there wasn't even a paid option, it was truly free. Back then I started learning German, and even if I didn't advance too much, I could say that it helped me learn some basics. Don't ask me why though, but after a few months I stopped playing with it and never picked it up again until 2023. Boy, did it change a lot in the past 7 years. I wish I'd say it was a good change, but unfortunately I consider Duolingo Free sucks (the 2023 version that is) in comparison with the app I toyed around with in 2016.