HelloTalk Reviews 24

The recent five star reviews are very obviously written by HelloTalk staff themselves as damage control. Notice how they are all Chinese and don't actually leave any constructive feedback - just mindless praise?

I noticed the app has been getting a lot of criticism recently both from within the app itself and on various online forums like the unofficial HT subreddit etc.

There are various reasons for this such as:

-Banning users who criticise China or recognise Taiwan and Hong Kong as independent nations. Shilling for the CCP is fine tho!

-The constant sexual harassment of female users, of with the developers encourage by ignoring reports and refusing to ban users. I have experienced this many times.

-Promoting sexualised content and selfies with revealing poses and clothing while simultaneously saying "dating is not allowed". You can even pay money to access the "selfies" tab. I thought this was a language learning app? LOL

-Aggressively pushing you to buy expensive and worthless addons and in app items

-Limiting your visibility if unless you pay for a "VIP membership"

-Intrusive spam advertising crammed into every corner

-Developers are obviously trying to plagiarise Instagram and Duolingo. Even the emoji and reward art style is similar to Duo.

-Making an "influencer program" to pay people to shill for them.

I believe this app is the best choice for improving speaking and listening skills. At first, I just tried it out, but I didn’t expect it to be so addictive. I’m here to practice my speaking, and I hope I can help others learn Chinese while they help me improve my English. You can meet people from all over the world here—they’re all very friendly, and I really enjoy the atmosphere. Learning a language through social interaction like this can quickly boost your language skills.

I downloaded this app specifically to practice my language skills and find serious conversation partners. I made it very clear in my profile description: language exchange only, no flirting. Unfortunately, the reality is a nightmare. Instead of language enthusiasts, the app is flooded with 'crazy goblins' who ignore your boundaries, ask personal questions, and demand photos immediately. There seems to be zero moderation of the user base.

The service markets itself in the App Store as 'Language Learning,' but in practice, it’s a poorly moderated dating site. If you are a woman looking for language exchange, don't waste your time. I deleted the app almost immediately because I’m not looking for a partner.

The developers should be honest and change their category to 'Dating' instead of misleading people who actually want to study.

I paid the VIP membership £40 and within one month they banned my account with no reason. Please don't waste your money.

Taiwan is a county. You can’t say these things even if it is in non controversial way because it is “too political” >>> post censored.

BUT… like other poster says.. Chinese users always posting statements about how China is number one. People, language, food, history, culture… vastly superior to every country. Propaganda machine!!! Why is that allowed? It’s unfair. Even post military parade photos and anti-Japanese WW2 content. That is very political, no??

Yes, we know the answer cuz you can’t select Taiwan as a nationality on the app - only “Chinese” (I wonder why hahaha) and you will get censored and your device banned so u can’t reinstall it.

Just want you to pay or else the app is useless. More a scam than anything.

CCP censorship. Can’t mention Taiwan at all, even if it is a completely innocent comment such as you went on holiday there. Post will be removed along with your account.

Chinese users can post politically charged, racist, xenophobic, anti-western nationalist content as much as they like with zero consequences. However, say anything even remotely bad about glorious China and you’ll get permabanned lol.

WARNING: VIP is a scam. Young girls sell nude content on this app. Men send unsolicited nudes and harass women constantly. No age verification (so children are exposed to all the above). The moderators are unfair and can close your VIP account for no reason.

Chinese run app that. Any sort of mention of Taiwan will ban you.

Ridiculous. Use something better.

The app it self is brilliant for making friends on and to learn a new language. But they do let so many creeps, bullies, fakes and scammers on this app. I had came across so many when I was on the app. So please be careful when using it! They really should add a verified profile feature on the app. The customer service and their silly automatic system detect rules. For making a new account is a total joke! If you delete your account for any reason and make a new one over a period of time. You will get banned for using the app. Even if your old account was deleted and long gone! You will be banned and so will your device! It’s very silly. Really is a silly rule by a very silly company. They won’t even unbanned you for it. 🙄.. I have read where if you haven’t used the app for quite some time. Your account hasn’t been active. They will banned you for that too and your device! 🫤

Account was deleted for no reason without any notice. Cannot recoup 120usd lifetime subscription fee

app randomly deleted my account without any warnings. Had paid 850cny for a lifetime membership and it got cancelled. Will report to BBB and app store for fraud.

I am writing with great distress regarding my recent subscription. I was so excited to use your service, believing I was signing up for a €6 monthly plan, but I was mistakenly charged €78 for an annual subscription. While this amount may seem small, for me it is significant—it affects my ability to afford basic necessities like food. I love your platform and wish to remain a subscriber, but only on a monthly plan that fits my budget. I kindly ask for your understanding and compassion: please refund the €78 and switch me to the €6 monthly plan. This would allow me to continue enjoying your wonderful service without enduring the financial strain this misunderstanding has caused.

When I signed up, I selected the annual offer of €78, mistakenly believing it was a monthly subscription at €6 per month. Unfortunately, this misunderstanding, due to a lack of clarity in the pricing presentation, resulted in an immediate charge of €78, which I am currently unable to afford given my financial situation.

I would like to request a refund under my right of withdrawal, in accordance with the European Directive 2011/83/EU, which protects consumers for online purchases. Since my purchase was made less than 14 days ago, I am legally entitled to exercise this right.

My intention is not to stop using your service—quite the opposite. I would love to continue benefiting from it, but under a monthly plan of €6, which aligns better with my current budget.

I kindly ask that you:
1. Refund the €78 charge in accordance with my right of withdrawal.
2. Convert my subscription to the monthly plan so that I can continue using your service.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,

I have proof that fake users on HelloTalk stole and shared my account data with third parties.
When I reported this to HelloTalk support, I got banned.
Therefore, HelloTalk favors illegal data brokering activities.

The company is Chinese and they will ban you for the smallest of reasons without returning your subscription. I got removed for mentioning something political after just a few weeks of paying for a years subscription and they refused to refund it. Stay well clear of these bandits!

This site constantly advertises its vip status to you and its extra courses. When I signed up to the trial lesson the teacher didnt show up and it is very difficult to get a refund (10€ for a trial lesson!)

Well, I enjoy using it. I specifically only talk to people who are clearly real and more my age. It’s very useful and I don’t think it’s fair to blame the app for the behaviour of people.
I speak to 6 people and I basically have the same sort of conversation with each, because repetition is how I learn.

It gives good access to those who want to practice language exchange. But like most apps that bring people together it attracts some of the wrong people. More should be done to remove time wasters, fakes and scammers. It would be good for users to rate other users. So we can avoid bad users of the app.

Software crashes all the time and deletes all your conversations.

HelloTalk totally sucks. Freshly new registered accounts and even devices get blocked for no reason. The customer service is horrible and their reply is unapologetic. Do not recommend anyone use it.