Drops (app)

{{Short description|American language-learning website and mobile app}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox website

| name = Drops

| owner = Kahoot!

| logo = Logo of Drops, the language learning app.png

| collapsible = yes

| company_type =

| country_of_origin = Estonia

| area_served = Worldwide

| current_status = Online

| founder = Daniel Farkas, Mark Szulyovszky

| industry = Online education

| products = Drops, Scripts, Droplets

| international = yes

| services = Language courses

| url = {{URL|languagedrops.com}}

| native_clients = Android, iOS, Web Browser

}}

Drops is a language learning app that was created in Estonia by Daniel Farkas and Mark Szulyovszky in 2015.{{Cite web|title=Language learning app Drops adds Native Hawaiian, more than doubles downloads|date=5 September 2018|author=Wells, Sarah|work=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/05/language-learning-app-drops-adds-native-hawaiian-more-than-doubles-downloads/}} It is the second product from the company, after their first app, LearnInvisible, had issues in retaining a user's engagement over the required time period.{{Cite web|title=How Google's 'best app of 2018' was built off the back of a failed project|date=4 February 2019|author=Taylor, Chloe|work=CNBC|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/04/how-googles-best-app-of-2018-was-built-after-a-failed-project-.html}} The languages available include Native Hawaiian and Māori,{{Cite web|title=Drops teaches vanishing native Hawaiian language on iOS and Android|date=5 September 2018|author=Takahashi, Dean|work=Venture Beat|url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/05/drops-teaches-vanishing-native-hawaiian-language-on-ios-and-android/}}{{Cite web|title=Meet Drops, the new international app that bridges te reo Māori with the world|date=14 February 2019|work=Idealog|url=https://idealog.co.nz/tech/2019/02/new-international-app-bridges-te-reo-maori-world}} and was classified as one of the fifty "Most Innovative Companies" for 2019 by Fast Company.{{Cite web|title=Most Innovative Companies - Drops|year=2019|work=Fast Company|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/company/drops}}

The company partnered with Global Eagle Entertainment to include Travel Talk, a feature intended to focus on words and phrases frequently used by travelers.{{Cite web|title=This Language-Learning App Aims to Transform Your In-Flight Time|date=20 June 2019|author=Ceaser, Jennifer|work=Bloomberg|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-20/language-drops-travel-talk-review-global-eagle-ent-partnership}} At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the number of users increased by 55 percent in the United States and 92 percent in the United Kingdom.{{Cite web|title=During quarantine, learning games are having their moment, too|date=13 April 2020|author=Campbell, Colin|work=Polygon|url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/13/21217753/coronavirus-lockdown-learning-games-duolingo-drops-yousician}} Droplets, a language app for children, includes profiles for multiple teachers working with remote students.{{Cite web|title=Droplets app adjusts to help distance learners|date=4 June 2020|author=Stacey, Viggo|work=The PIE News|url=https://thepienews.com/news/droplets-app-adjusts-to-help-distance-learners/}} The company also produces an app called Scripts, intended to help users learn to write alphabets.

The app was purchased by the Norwegian company Kahoot! on 24 November 2020.{{Cite web|title=Kahoot picks up $215M from SoftBank for its user-generated, gamified e-learning platform|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/13/kahoot-picks-up-215m-from-softbank-for-its-user-generated-gamified-e-learning-platform/|access-date=2021-01-25|website=TechCrunch|date=13 October 2020|language=en-US|archive-date=18 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018113538/https://social.techcrunch.com/2020/10/13/kahoot-picks-up-215m-from-softbank-for-its-user-generated-gamified-e-learning-platform/|url-status=live}}