If you've been following me for a while you'll know how annoyed I was about the changes to italki 6 months ago. Things haven't changed so, after 12 years of using italki, I've decided to delete my account.
jtalkonline.com/italki-is-de...
jtalkonline.com/italki-is-de...
italki is Dead to Me - Japanese Talk
italki, like so many great services for language learners, is dead. Well, not dead dead, but it’s heading that way. italki was a great service that connected language learners with amateur and profess...
jtalkonline.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:33 AM
If you've been following me for a while you'll know how annoyed I was about the changes to italki 6 months ago. Things haven't changed so, after 12 years of using italki, I've decided to delete my account.
jtalkonline.com/italki-is-de...
jtalkonline.com/italki-is-de...
I used to recommend italki for language learning but they've gone full anti-user by forcing their AI on everyone and recording and using lessons without consent. I'll be deleting my italki account.
cool cool 🙄 #langsky
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
From the iTalki community on Reddit: UPDATE: the button to opt out of AI recordings likely does nothing.
Explore this post and more from the iTalki community
www.reddit.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:13 AM
I used to recommend italki for language learning but they've gone full anti-user by forcing their AI on everyone and recording and using lessons without consent. I'll be deleting my italki account.
It's been two months and italki still hasn't fixed their UI and removed the AI slop (and that stupid fish), so I'm officially quitting italki. Going to work with teachers directly and see if I can find some local lessons.
December 1, 2025 at 3:55 AM
It's been two months and italki still hasn't fixed their UI and removed the AI slop (and that stupid fish), so I'm officially quitting italki. Going to work with teachers directly and see if I can find some local lessons.
Retired linguistics prof here. Strongly recommed iTalki instead! (*not the AI-powered Plus version, just the regular marketplace of language teachers)
April 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Retired linguistics prof here. Strongly recommed iTalki instead! (*not the AI-powered Plus version, just the regular marketplace of language teachers)
italki have started pushing AI and now I don't know what to do. I love my teacher on there but I do not want to support a company that uses AI. The whole point of italki is to connect people to learn languages and AI completely undermines that. I'm so disappointed.
January 2, 2025 at 4:52 AM
italki have started pushing AI and now I don't know what to do. I love my teacher on there but I do not want to support a company that uses AI. The whole point of italki is to connect people to learn languages and AI completely undermines that. I'm so disappointed.
I wish italki would let me turn off their AI tools banner. Makes me not want to open the app.
July 16, 2025 at 7:54 AM
I wish italki would let me turn off their AI tools banner. Makes me not want to open the app.
I had a teacher on italki once who told me he wouldn't correct me because I was understandable and I could never be native level so there was no point. A TEACHER. I dropped him fast and ignored him.
(Needless to say, don't use a teacher called Kozo the Translator on italki.)
(Needless to say, don't use a teacher called Kozo the Translator on italki.)
July 29, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I had a teacher on italki once who told me he wouldn't correct me because I was understandable and I could never be native level so there was no point. A TEACHER. I dropped him fast and ignored him.
(Needless to say, don't use a teacher called Kozo the Translator on italki.)
(Needless to say, don't use a teacher called Kozo the Translator on italki.)
cool cool 🙄 #langsky
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
From the iTalki community on Reddit: UPDATE: the button to opt out of AI recordings likely does nothing.
Explore this post and more from the iTalki community
www.reddit.com
February 7, 2026 at 11:53 PM
cool cool 🙄 #langsky
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
This teacher has AI recordings turned off but that AI summaries are still given after lessons. "As someone who works in software development the only way for that to happen is for at least audio to be recorded and then fed into an AI model."
via www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
I'm working on an article now about how bad italki have gotten. I see they're doubling down on this rubbish. It's just not worth it anymore.
Italki teachers have NO CHOICE about them being recorded by AI.
I also don't see the setting to disable AI anymore in my student settings either??? I only see it for teacher recommendations. The "Recording privacy setting" says NOTHING about AI, even in the help article it links to. #langsky
I also don't see the setting to disable AI anymore in my student settings either??? I only see it for teacher recommendations. The "Recording privacy setting" says NOTHING about AI, even in the help article it links to. #langsky
January 28, 2026 at 2:31 PM
I'm working on an article now about how bad italki have gotten. I see they're doubling down on this rubbish. It's just not worth it anymore.
replace your duolingo streak with an italki streak
April 29, 2025 at 2:54 PM
replace your duolingo streak with an italki streak
Pimsleur, iTalki and Lingopie
September 22, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Pimsleur, iTalki and Lingopie
@italkioffical.bsky.social Can you explain how your new AI policy doesn't violate EU laws with GDPR?
www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
From the iTalki community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the iTalki community
www.reddit.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:51 PM
@italkioffical.bsky.social Can you explain how your new AI policy doesn't violate EU laws with GDPR?
www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
www.reddit.com/r/iTalki/com...
Esta pregunta de iTalki siempre me genera muchas preguntas
May 30, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Esta pregunta de iTalki siempre me genera muchas preguntas
Italki is pretty good. I use it.
August 7, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Italki is pretty good. I use it.
Dropped italki (because they've ruined their platform) and tried out a local Korean school today. It was really good! Going to have lessons with them every Saturday.
December 13, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Dropped italki (because they've ruined their platform) and tried out a local Korean school today. It was really good! Going to have lessons with them every Saturday.
just scheduled an italki lesson for telugu (it's been, like, 8 months)
February 3, 2026 at 10:35 PM
just scheduled an italki lesson for telugu (it's been, like, 8 months)
Italki teachers have NO CHOICE about them being recorded by AI.
I also don't see the setting to disable AI anymore in my student settings either??? I only see it for teacher recommendations. The "Recording privacy setting" says NOTHING about AI, even in the help article it links to. #langsky
I also don't see the setting to disable AI anymore in my student settings either??? I only see it for teacher recommendations. The "Recording privacy setting" says NOTHING about AI, even in the help article it links to. #langsky
January 28, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Italki teachers have NO CHOICE about them being recorded by AI.
I also don't see the setting to disable AI anymore in my student settings either??? I only see it for teacher recommendations. The "Recording privacy setting" says NOTHING about AI, even in the help article it links to. #langsky
I also don't see the setting to disable AI anymore in my student settings either??? I only see it for teacher recommendations. The "Recording privacy setting" says NOTHING about AI, even in the help article it links to. #langsky
I like using italki for Japanese and Korean lessons because the teachers on there are often learning languages themselves, which makes them a lot more effective at knowing what a student needs.
August 23, 2025 at 9:47 PM
I like using italki for Japanese and Korean lessons because the teachers on there are often learning languages themselves, which makes them a lot more effective at knowing what a student needs.
For now I have to prioritize life/important expenses, but I would LOVE to try getting a tutor on italki or some place like that someday... I want better confidence when speaking Japanese. Typing is one thing, but I feel like my brain works faster than my mouth when I try to speak Japanese. ;___;
September 28, 2026 at 1:50 AM
For now I have to prioritize life/important expenses, but I would LOVE to try getting a tutor on italki or some place like that someday... I want better confidence when speaking Japanese. Typing is one thing, but I feel like my brain works faster than my mouth when I try to speak Japanese. ;___;
I like iTalki, which is pushing some AI tools but the basic function is to match you with a human language teacher for tutoring sections, which is pretty great for smaller languages where a native speaker may not be readily available otherwise.
May 21, 2025 at 5:28 AM
I like iTalki, which is pushing some AI tools but the basic function is to match you with a human language teacher for tutoring sections, which is pretty great for smaller languages where a native speaker may not be readily available otherwise.
italki gets a good name for that.
February 28, 2025 at 7:02 AM
italki gets a good name for that.
If you're looking for a new way to get Japanese lessons online (since italki have destroyed their services), then here are some suggestions!
Note: I haven't tried these personally. If anyone has, would love to hear your thoughts!
Note: I haven't tried these personally. If anyone has, would love to hear your thoughts!
September 10, 2025 at 2:31 PM
If you're looking for a new way to get Japanese lessons online (since italki have destroyed their services), then here are some suggestions!
Note: I haven't tried these personally. If anyone has, would love to hear your thoughts!
Note: I haven't tried these personally. If anyone has, would love to hear your thoughts!
update: booked a trial italki lesson with a teacher to see how that goes! 🥹 extremely excited! i'll also research more resources before the lesson too~ 🩷
this is extremely random but thought i'd ask??
does anyone possibly know of any good resources for learning Cantonese? my dads fam (my Chinese side) speaks Cantonese. unfortunately I can't learn it from them at this time, but its something i'd like to learn to connect more with that part of myself!
does anyone possibly know of any good resources for learning Cantonese? my dads fam (my Chinese side) speaks Cantonese. unfortunately I can't learn it from them at this time, but its something i'd like to learn to connect more with that part of myself!
August 28, 2025 at 5:45 PM
update: booked a trial italki lesson with a teacher to see how that goes! 🥹 extremely excited! i'll also research more resources before the lesson too~ 🩷