DEVELOPER STORIES

The Lingvano team says its users have lots of reasons for wanting to learn American Sign Language (ASL).

“We’ve heard everything from, ‘I started signing to communicate with my grandson,’ to ‘I’m facing hearing loss and want to start learning now,’ to ‘I want to converse with my patients,’” says Elena Coazzoli, head of product for Lingvano. “Our job is to deliver the best possible experience to support their unique learning journeys.”

Available on: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Team size: 27
Based in: Vienna, Austria

Lingvano teaches ASL through a series of video lessons — all taught by Deaf instructors — as well as short quizzes and community events. “Most of our users are hearing people who want to communicate with the Deaf community, including many who don’t yet have a direct connection to Deaf people,” says Lingvano CEO Gabriel Kwakyi. “Lingvano is about breaking down language barriers and building bridges, and we offer a specific way to do that.”

The app has been making its own progress too. Lingvano launched on the web in 2018 before moving to mobile in 2021. Betewen the summer of 2023 and March 2025, the app added 2 million new users, according to Nilufer Bhatti, head of growth. “We don’t see ourselves only as a business or a startup,” she says. “We feel we have a responsibility, so we use whatever channels are available to reach our community.” Today, that community includes more than 3 million users, 85% of whom are in the U.S. and Canada.

Elena Coazzoli, Lingvano head of product

To reach that community, Lingvano uses several App Store features, including custom product pages, product page optimization, and In-App Events. “Our first In-App Event was in 2024 for Pride,” Bhatti says, “and the response was so strong that we’ve continued to host them for special days and moments ever since.” One such campaign was dedicated to teaching emergency words and phrases, which the team showcased with an In-App Event that included a video of Lingvano team member Maor Ben Zeev showing the sign for “emergency” to provide a dynamic preview of what people could learn.

The team also uses In-App Events to offer recurring community practice sessions, in which people get together for breakout sessions on video calls. “These are a really nice way to keep people connected,” says Bhatti. “You can learn sign language in the app, but it’s crucial to practice it and make sure you’re including it in your daily life.”

Elsewhere, custom product pages let the team offer a more relevant experience for certain subsets of learners. “We’ve learned many interesting insights from customer surveys, such as 7% of our users are losing their own hearing or have a partner who is,” says Kwakyi. “We also have nonverbal users who may prefer signing to speaking, or Deaf users wanting to learn another sign language. Those niches might not make sense for us to target in our default product pages. But custom product pages give us flexibility to connect with people, and rapidly experiment with different screenshots and messaging.”

To Kwakyi, it’s akin to telling different parts of the same story. “Some people have told us that even though they might not be deaf themselves, they are excited to communicate with the community. Some people simply want to explore this beautiful language. And some are just looking to do something bigger than themselves. Our mission is to create meaningful connections, wherever we can.”

Originally published June 9, 2025