You’re all ready to practice your Spanish. You fire up Duolingo in Chrome on your trusty Mac, but… argh! A blank white screen stares you down. No cute owl. No lessons. Just frustration. Don’t worry, friend — this guide will help you fix that white screen and get back to learning in no time.
TL;DR
If you’re seeing a white screen on Duolingo using Chrome on your Mac, it’s usually a browser glitch, a cache problem, or an extension conflict. You can often fix it by clearing your cache, disabling problematic extensions, or updating Chrome. Try these steps one by one and you’ll be back to conjugating verbs before you know it!
Why Is Duolingo Showing a White Screen?
This issue can pop up due to a few reasons, and most of them are easy to fix. Here are the usual suspects:
- Your browser cache is acting up.
- One of your Chrome extensions is misbehaving.
- Your Chrome browser is outdated.
- Something went weird with your internet connection or Duolingo server.
- There’s an issue with hardware acceleration.
Step-by-Step Fixes
Follow these friendly steps one by one. You’ll likely fix the problem before even reaching the end!
1. Quick Refresh
Try the obvious first. Hit that refresh button or press Command + R. Sometimes, the page just needs a fresh start.
2. Open in a New Tab
Yes, really. Try opening Duolingo in a brand new Chrome tab. Sometimes a new tab can fix weird behavior.
3. Clear Chrome’s Cache
If Duolingo has loaded badly once, Chrome might keep loading the broken version. Clear that cache!
- Open Chrome.
- Click the three dots in the top-right corner.
- Go to More tools > Clear browsing data.
- Select Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Then reload Duolingo. That might just do the trick. Boom!
4. Disable Chrome Extensions
Extensions are helpful… unless one breaks your favorite language app.
- In Chrome, go to the address bar and type chrome://extensions.
- Uncheck or remove suspicious or unneeded extensions.
- Especially ad blockers, privacy blockers, or anything that modifies web content.
Once disabled, reload Duolingo. Good chance it’ll work now!
5. Use Incognito Mode
Open Chrome, then hit Command + Shift + N to open an Incognito window.
Go to Duolingo and see if it loads. If it does — bingo! You now know the problem is tied to your extensions or cookies.
6. Update Google Chrome
Duolingo may not play nice with older versions of Chrome. Make sure you’re running the latest version:
- Click the three-dot menu again.
- Go to Help > About Google Chrome.
- Chrome will check for updates and prompt you to relaunch if needed.
After the update, reload Duolingo. That blank screen might finally disappear!
7. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration
This feature speeds things up… unless it breaks things. You can turn it off like this:
- In Chrome, head to Settings.
- Click System in the left panel.
- Find “Use hardware acceleration when available” and toggle it off.
- Restart Chrome.
Now try Duolingo again. Sometimes this is the hidden fix that works wonders.
8. Try a Different Browser
If you’re still seeing white, try opening Duolingo in Safari or Firefox. This helps confirm whether it’s a Chrome-specific issue or something broader.
9. Check Your Internet Connection
Yes, yes — it sounds basic. But a drop in your Wi-Fi can mess stuff up. Try refreshing or restarting your Wi-Fi. Better yet, briefly switch to a wired connection if you can.
10. Restart Your Mac
Just like you sometimes need a nap, your Mac benefits from a reboot. If none of the above worked, restart it. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.
11. Check Duolingo’s Server Status
It might not even be your fault! There’s a chance Duolingo’s own servers are down or having issues.
Check on DownDetector or Duolingo’s Twitter support page to see if others are reporting problems.
Bonus Tips
- If you have a VPN on, try disabling it and reloading Duolingo.
- Sign out of Duolingo, clear cookies, and sign back in.
- Create a new Chrome user profile and try loading things from there.
Still No Luck? Here’s a Plan B.
If nothing works, you can contact Duolingo support directly. Or, as a faster option, you could use the iOS app or the Mac App Store version of Duolingo, which rarely has white screen issues.
You’ll still get your daily XP and keep your streak alive — which is, let’s be honest, the most important part.
Quick Recap of Fixes
Try each of these until Duolingo stops being a white void:
- Refresh the page
- Use a new Chrome tab
- Clear browser cache
- Turn off Chrome extensions
- Try Incognito Mode
- Update Chrome
- Disable hardware acceleration
- Use a different browser
- Check Wi-Fi or internet issues
- Restart your Mac
- Look into Duolingo outages
Final Words
Unless your Mac has secretly taken a vow never to let you learn languages, one of the above steps should fix your Duolingo white screen problem. Chrome glitches happen. But with a few quick actions, you can usually zap them away.
Now close this tab (after trying the tips, of course) and get back to sweet, sweet Spanish. Or Japanese. Or Klingon — we don’t judge. Just don’t let a blank screen stop your journey. Happy learning!



