We analyzed 1,580 negative reviews to understand why users abandon the most popular Course Platform apps — and what they want instead.
Specific, exploitable gaps in the top Course Platform apps on the App Store.
Removed AirPlay support and has non-existent customer service (AI chatbot only)
"So I have used this app for over a year and have used AirPlay to cast the training videos on to the TV. Which was a wonderful ability. But a recent update prevents that ability now."
"There is no customer service. They dump you onto a crappy Ai chat named Alex, who repeats itself 1 million times and is useless."
Gift subscriptions auto-renew and charge recipients; app is buggy with poor customer support follow-through
"I was surprised to see they charged me to renew the subscription this year. As it was a gift they should not assume you want to keep paying for someone else's subscription automatically"
"Customer service should be called 'lip service' because they will initially respond to you but fail to follow up and resolve issues."
No Apple TV app, removed Chromecast support, and inferior to predecessor Lynda.com
"Number 1 there is no Apple TV app i"
"The Chrimecast support doesn't seem to exist anymore. I had used the cast featu"
Charges for full year after trial ends, poor refund practices, and unresponsive customer service
"I was given a 1-month free trial. So if you try to cancel you lose your membership. If you don't cancel they automatically charge you, but I can't get a refund on a one-month free trial.. They charge me for the whole year."
"They used to be a good company, now they switched their customer service practices and the people you get emails from don't even respond to your issues."
Most courses don't work on mobile app and require computer; support team doesn't read user messages
"The app is completely useless. Almost every course I have tried to take on the app doesn't support the app and you have to use a comp"
"it seems that Coursera doesn't invest in their development nor in their support team, specifically the latter since those people don't even know how to read and when you tell them 'I already tried to uninstall the app and install it again' they a"
Users feel tricked by auto-renewal practices, especially for gift subscriptions that auto-charge recipients. Annual pricing ($99-$230) is considered too high for the value received, with many feeling content is more inspirational than educational. Hidden subscription terms and difficulty canceling trials without losing access frustrate users.
Users are willing to pay for quality education but feel current platforms don't deliver sufficient value. Many mention switching to or preferring competitors like Udemy's one-time course purchases. Free enterprise subscriptions are the main reason some continue using services like LinkedIn Learning.
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