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How Much Are You Worth to Big Tech?
& Duolingo’s AI Pivot: From Language Lessons to a Learning Empire
How much money do Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Pinterest, and Snapchat make from you?
Credits: Sherwood
We all know the internet adage: If the product is free, you’re the product.
For most of us, that means Big Tech quietly monetizing our insecurities while we scroll past dog videos and rage headlines. But exactly how much is your doomscrolling worth to the likes of Mark Zuckerberg or Evan Spiegel?
ARPU Reality Check
Ad revenue per active user (ARPU) in North America:
Reddit: ~$2.80/month
Pinterest: ~$2.40/month
Snapchat: ~$2.50/month
Not a huge gap between them — and barely a coffee at Starbucks.
Then comes Meta. Using some back-of-the-envelope math:
Meta reported $20B in US/Canada ad revenue last quarter.
Estimated 250M daily active users in those markets.
That’s roughly $26 per user per month — 10x more than its peers, and more than Netflix’s priciest plan ($24.99).
Even if you split that between Facebook and Instagram, the gap is huge.
The Napkin Math
Facebook DAUs (US/Canada, Q4 2023 filing): 205M — likely flat since.
Instagram DAUs estimate: ~150M (based on Pew’s 50% usage rate vs Facebook’s 68%).
Overlap: Assume 70% use both → ~45M unique Insta users not already on FB.
Total unique DAUs: 205M + 45M ≈ 250M.
With ~300M adults in US/Canada, that’s 80–85% of the population using a Meta platform every day.
Bottom line: To Meta, you’re not just a user — you’re a $26-a-month asset.
Duolingo’s AI Pivot: From Words to Music, Math—and Chess
Duolingo just raised its 2025 revenue forecast to over $1 billion —but the real move is its biggest acquisition yet: London’s NextBeat, maker of music games that have pulled in $200M in revenue.
Armed with NextBeat’s 23-person team, Duolingo plans to go beyond languages into AI-powered music lessons—think guitar, voice, and rhythm—while also scaling its chess and math offerings. The aim: turn its 80M+ daily users into a captive audience for a multi-subject “learning super app.”
Growth is slowing and AI has dented margins but alongside music, Duolingo is building out chess and math offerings, aiming to make these non-language courses a bigger part of the business, faster. The bet is clear—AI-powered diversification can unlock new revenue streams and keep users hooked
The World’s Biggest Online Shoppers—and Who’s Still Stuck in the Checkout Line
U.S. shoppers (33.7%) and their Chinese counterparts (31.2%) dominate online retail, nearly doubling the 17.3% global average. The U.K. (23.2%), South Korea (22.0%), and Netherlands (20.9%) complete the top five digital spenders.
Mid-tier markets like Canada (17.9%), Japan (16.2%), and Germany (14.6%) still favor brick-and-mortar stores, while most countries linger below 15% online penetration.
Emerging economies are the biggest untapped prize—hampered by logistics, infrastructure, and payment trust—but poised for rapid growth as mobile access and e-payments gain traction.