Review Insights · App Store
Tandem: Practice Languages
Tripod Technology GmbH · 37,365 ratings · ★ 4.6
4.6
★★★★★
37,365 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 54 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"language"
12 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Broken app. Updated the app after being bugged nonstop. Now it won’t open at all…. And let me not even mention the constant ads. There are way better language apps out there." - Sobadihadtoreviewtbh
2
"people"
10 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Wrongful ban. I loved the app at first. It didn’t force you to pay for anything for awhile. After using it for a month I decided to pay for a years subscription. I was nearly 2 full years in and made a ton of friends! It helped connect me to people local…" - The Only Review Needed
3
"years"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Wrongful ban. I loved the app at first. It didn’t force you to pay for anything for awhile. After using it for a month I decided to pay for a years subscription. I was nearly 2 full years in and made a ton of friends! It helped connect me to people local…" - The Only Review Needed
4
"languages"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Faulty. This app succeeds as an app to practice languages you already know to some degree. You might be able to connect with a native speaker of your target language but there’s also a large amount of people there who are attention hungry, flirty, …" - spensahomez
5
"learning"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Pay money, still get ignored.. This app is not geared towards learning languages." - I am pekk
6
"tandem"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Overly expensive for an abysmal experience. $69 for the year is far too much for the experience one gets with Tandem, which is quite poor TBH. You will rarely find a good speaking partner, and the group discussions are often silly and usually a clique. This is a $19/year membership…" - exwhywhyzee
7
"been"
6 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Invite. I applied and it has been more than 10 days I still haven’t gotten an invite" - Monica Moses happiness
8
"completely"
6 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Face control. A completely shady service. It requires you to send your face for some unknown purpose. I'd simply like to remind the creators of this app that I'm primarily interested in communication. If I need to use my face, I'll go to Tinder." - Недовольный Олегушка
📋 All 54 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Tech issues
Can’t get an access code to create any accounts. Tried with multiple emails. Can’t use number to authenticate.
Wrongful ban
I loved the app at first. It didn’t force you to pay for anything for awhile. After using it for a month I decided to pay for a years subscription. I was nearly 2 full years in and made a ton of friends! It helped connect me to people locally and abroad that I would have never met without the app. I had a perfect reputation on the app. I had tons of comments on my account that made me feel special and liked and loved by many friends. This was an awesome feature.
So why a low rating?
I was banned for an unknown reason. They never told me why and I have no idea why. I tried to start over and make a new account but they will not let me. There is no bypassing this which is insane to me! I think they have an extremely poor customer support team and it’s destructive to the community. I will never use the app again unfortunately but be aware of you decide to download that they shadow ban for unknown reasons sometimes.
So why a low rating?
I was banned for an unknown reason. They never told me why and I have no idea why. I tried to start over and make a new account but they will not let me. There is no bypassing this which is insane to me! I think they have an extremely poor customer support team and it’s destructive to the community. I will never use the app again unfortunately but be aware of you decide to download that they shadow ban for unknown reasons sometimes.
App never works.
Way too many bugs with the app. Constantly keeps crashing and requires me to re-download the app and now I can’t even get back into the app at all.
Very bad❌❌
This app has so many glitches; after downloading it i couldnt get into the app for the second time it kicks me out after 0.01 second tapping on it to open it , fix your problem!!!!!!!!
发送消息会闪退崩溃打不开app
我真的是服了，你这个app发送消息就闪退，而且闪退后这个应用都打不开了必须卸载重新安装，卸载重装都没用还是会发送消息就闪退，第一次见到这样的app，能不能修一修这些Bug？
Pay money, still get ignored.
This app is not geared towards learning languages.
Overly expensive for an abysmal experience
$69 for the year is far too much for the experience one gets with Tandem, which is quite poor TBH. You will rarely find a good speaking partner, and the group discussions are often silly and usually a clique.
This is a $19/year membership at best, and even then I’m being generous
This is a $19/year membership at best, and even then I’m being generous
Face control
A completely shady service. It requires you to send your face for some unknown purpose. I'd simply like to remind the creators of this app that I'm primarily interested in communication. If I need to use my face, I'll go to Tinder.
Too many bugs/technical glitches
I paid for the premium version and the glitches are insane! I will NOT renew my membership!
网络错误
更新之后网络错误
This is the worse app
I been lilies and targeted by a group of people who have a telegram and ban people they don’t like it’s so unfair
So bad anymore
Started using Tandem in 2019 and couldn’t believe what a great tool it was for learning languages. I met so many cool people and made so many friends internationally the first few years I was using it. Took a break from it and came back and the app is completely unrecognizable. So many important features that helped maximize the quality of use on the app are now only available through Pro, which is so frustrating. All it feels like anymore is a cash grab, even though “the paid experience helps keep it free for everyone.” 😒 what’s the point of using the app when you can barely do anything with it to begin with now? Shame on devs and whoever else for ruining what was once a brilliant app
Open account
I was applying 2 weeks ago but still haven’t applied for what waiting opening account
Completely unusable
I first used the app during Covid and it was an amazing app to meet people and practice languages. I liked it so much that at one point I even paid for a recurring subscription. I stopped using for a while and recently came back to the app. It’s completely unrecognizable and unusable. It’s impossible to do anything without having to pay for it. I’m a developer and the app changes are appalling for anyone that cares about UX. None of the app interactions make sense, did this even go thru any testing or QA? (for example, if I need to change the language I’m learning, I have to delete the current one but I cannot delete the current one because I need at least one language. So I would need to add multiple languages and then remove the ones I don’t need. But wait, I need to pay to add more languages). The old tandem was great- miles ahead of any other language exchange app. I’ve been gone from the app for a few years but that seems to have been a great decision given the terrible changes that have happened since. Safe to say I will delete the app and will not be coming back at all.
Doesn't Work
It's non-functional. Audio doesn't work in parties, and it almost always collapses even trying to open one, resulting in another ad.
That's on top of the fact that even before it stopped working, the company running the app started pushing political stuff in the app while prohibiting users from expressing their own opinions in any way that differs from the company's ideology.
That's on top of the fact that even before it stopped working, the company running the app started pushing political stuff in the app while prohibiting users from expressing their own opinions in any way that differs from the company's ideology.
Delayed Account Approval (47 days) Despite 7 Day Review Policy at Tandem
I submitted a complete application on April 5, 2026. Tandem advertises a standard 7 day review period. 47 days later on May 21, the account was finally approved, and only after support instructed me to generate a special diagnostic code by double tapping the flower icon because the application could not be located in their system.
As a professional English teacher with extensive experience preparing Korean and Chinese learners for IELTS and TOEIC, I invested considerable time crafting a detailed profile designed to deliver high value language exchange. 47 days of unbroken silence is an unconscionable and indefensible delay that renders the advertised 7 day window a fiction and left a qualified contributor sidelined for nearly 7 weeks.
Tandem may market itself as a premium language learning community, yet its onboarding process is opaque, unreliable, and indifferent to serious users. Anyone considering the app should understand the reality: 7 days is not a promise, it is marketing copy.
As a professional English teacher with extensive experience preparing Korean and Chinese learners for IELTS and TOEIC, I invested considerable time crafting a detailed profile designed to deliver high value language exchange. 47 days of unbroken silence is an unconscionable and indefensible delay that renders the advertised 7 day window a fiction and left a qualified contributor sidelined for nearly 7 weeks.
Tandem may market itself as a premium language learning community, yet its onboarding process is opaque, unreliable, and indifferent to serious users. Anyone considering the app should understand the reality: 7 days is not a promise, it is marketing copy.
you all only check your applications once a year or what?
sent in multiple applications and every time, nothing but radio silence. mind you this is after the 7 day period too. why have potential users send in applications just to ignore them???
Pop up ads 🤮
They used to not have pop-up ads. They even put ads in between people’s photos. There’s an ad every 3-5 taps on the screen. They remove features that were once free like searching for language partners from a specific country.
Learning languages through context, clues
If your goal is to teach language, then you might as well have them learn them through context clues if you banned someone because what they said was off topic then you’re not good at teaching language in the first place You should team up with Apple and OpenAI so they can make AI generated images. It’s OK if you don’t wanna wet people post videos but don’t kick them off just because what they said wasn’t relevant to learning grammar that’s not how you’re going languages anyway when you’re when you’re a baby
Нельзя поменять язык
Хочу поменять язык, никак не получается, чтоб убрать существующий, пишет «нужно выбрать хотя бы один язык», а когда пытаешься добавить хотя бы один язык пишет «эта возможность доступна только пользователям Про» поставьте сменить язык, чтоли.
设备发烫软件卡顿
什么鬼玩意 然后突然突然好友全是删除账户了…我服了 什么垃圾软件
Spam notifications
Too many spam notifications, 3-4 times per day to buy Tandem Pro
Deceptive advertising
Only downloaded because it was advertised as having the option to select multiple target languages for free. After a lengthy sign up process, I learn that it is not free, it wants to charge $70 for that feature.
worst app
so bad they never let me in , ive been waiting for 3~4 months! 👎 zero stars . deleted
Wait in a list for months to join ! ❌❌❌
And its just a regular app nothing special about it ...a waste of time rediculous ...
Overly Monetized
Used to be a cool app, but like most things now, the corporate reptiles got their grubby little hands on it. You have to PAY just to switch your language preferences if you decide youre learning s new language which should be a free and basic feature. plus nobody seems really serious about learning languages here. dont waste your time here
I don’t have the party’s button. It disappeared from long time ago
Johny
A Disappointing App for Language Learning - Just Fake Friendships
This app is extremely disappointing and almost useless for language learning. The platform is poorly designed, the features don’t support real learning, and it feels more like a place for fake friendships than an educational tool. It completely fails to deliver any real value. I wouldn’t recommend this app to anyone who is serious about learning a language.
لايعمل بشكل جيد
لقد واجهت مشاكل كثيرة ولم استطع تسجيل الدخول
Tandem is not what it used to be
Now it pushes a lot of ads and restricts what you can do and often freezes up your device with all it’s pushing notifications.
Not the same as before
Really slow, charging for almost everything.
v7.9 crashes constantly, don't upgrade!
I mistakenly upgraded to the most recent version (as of early March 2026), v7.9, and doing anything in Chats causes the app to crash. It crashes constantly. The app is completely unusable for Chat. AVOID!
They ruined it
I can't believe how badly this app frustrates me now. I used to use it all the time; I've made so many friends who've genuinely changed my life from all across the world across so many different language barriers. I can't thank this app enough for that; but now almost every useful feature is behind a pay wall and it's absolutely ridiculous. It's also gotten really buggy and advertises a lot of sketchy crypto stuff.
Edit: I started paying and it made a lot more fun to use, for a while. Now for some reason there's a daily limit on how many conversations you can initiate? This is outrageous.
Edit 2: It has gotten way glitchier and laggier. I often get weird error messages whenever I try to record myself.
Edit: I started paying and it made a lot more fun to use, for a while. Now for some reason there's a daily limit on how many conversations you can initiate? This is outrageous.
Edit 2: It has gotten way glitchier and laggier. I often get weird error messages whenever I try to record myself.
Incredibly buggy and discrimination is rampant
The app is incredibly buggy and has been this way for years. They also discriminate against their own paying users by randomly banning users with no explanation. It’s really pathetic.
Unusable with popups
I used to really enjoy this app for many years. However, it is now almost unusable as nearly all the features require TandemPro, and even for features that don’t require it, there are CONSTANT popups that make it difficult to do even the most basic tasks.
Abdalla
They never verify you so you won’t have access to the app
Influencer scam
I came on this app because I saw an influencer mentioned it and thought maybe it’s a real recommendation. It is terrible. Put fake numbers on the map in my area to bait me into subscription. I did it and there was no one. There’s supposedly a Lunar Nee Year event but in reality there’s nothing. So far none of the people who are online have replied to me. Really disappointing because it makes you do these questions at the beginning of making your account to make it seem like it will be high quality.
Limitations
The limitation on chatting with others is really frustrating. You can’t chat with more than ten people per day.
Recent update bugs
Your most recent update is causing the app to crash randomly, never had a problem like this in the 6 years I’ve had this app.
The doesn’t work properly.
The app closes CONSTANTLY, I need to uninstall all the time and log in again if I want to see the messages.
Lots of ghosting
No one wants to talk.
Broken app
Updated the app after being bugged nonstop. Now it won’t open at all…. And let me not even mention the constant ads. There are way better language apps out there.
Faulty
This app succeeds as an app to practice languages you already know to some degree. You might be able to connect with a native speaker of your target language but there’s also a large amount of people there who are attention hungry, flirty, or trolling. Some more structure would help. Categorize the parties into strictly social or actual practice. Give control to the host to prevent guests from being able to invite their clique and taking over by overwhelming the speakers section. Give hosts the power to mute problematic speakers who speak too much or respond to everything said.
“Parties” don’t open about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time. “Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again”. Annoying message every time I open the app telling me I need to allow for notifications (I don’t want notifications from random people). Audio volume dropping low because of ads.
It’s a fun app sometimes. But it’s also annoying to deal the these issues.
“Parties” don’t open about 1/3 to 1/2 of the time. “Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again”. Annoying message every time I open the app telling me I need to allow for notifications (I don’t want notifications from random people). Audio volume dropping low because of ads.
It’s a fun app sometimes. But it’s also annoying to deal the these issues.
Invite
I applied and it has been more than 10 days I still haven’t gotten an invite
Реклама
Постоянно вылазит реклама если не оплатил премиум. Не понятно зачем. Ознакомившись с приложением человек сам примет решение покупать или нет. Нет возможности поменять язык для изучения, например я знаю английский, почему я не могу выбрать элементарную опцию что я хочу его усовершенствовать? Нет, выбирай другой язык. Ну странно.
I used to love it
I used to love this app, but know it’s unpleasant. I choose a language by mistake and know to change it I need to pay. You have t pay for everything now.
Poor performance
After some update the app is very slow and filled with bugs. It’s not worth paying the subscription. It has been 2 months solid with these bugs and features not working and not even the basic things working as it used to work just fine.
Glitching
Issues with the messages not loading correctly. It’s very tough to use at the moment and it wasn’t before idk what’s going on
Significantly worse
Wow, this app has gotten so much worse over the past few years! It used to be simple and easy to use. Now, just for it to be decent you need to pay for Pro (which is way more expensive than it needs to be).
Is this an IOS only problem?
I’m not sure why it takes so long for the app to load messages. Recently it will load the home message page and will show my messages from days ago when I had just sent a message an hour ago, and then after waiting a minute to two it will finally load…
On top of that sometimes when you want to reply to a message, the options to add of emoji of respond is blank in which you will have to wait 1 minute for it to load…
One of the most popular language speaking apps doesn’t have money to fund an app that actually works efficiently? The bare minimum? be so fr
On top of that sometimes when you want to reply to a message, the options to add of emoji of respond is blank in which you will have to wait 1 minute for it to load…
One of the most popular language speaking apps doesn’t have money to fund an app that actually works efficiently? The bare minimum? be so fr
+ 4 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
90%
Positive (4-5★)
4%
Neutral (3★)
6%
Negative (1-2★)