Why can't I access certain features, such as following friends or leaderboards?

There are privacy settings and legal requirements that may restrict access to certain features on Duolingo. 

1. You may have enabled Privacy settings via your Account profile, found here: https://www.duolingo.com/settings/privacy 
   
   
2. Due to COPPA rules, it is possible that you have limited access to certain social features if you have indicated that you are under the age of 13. Please note that if you are an age restricted user, you will not see ads. 
   
   
3. If you are a student in a Duolingo for Schools classroom, it is possible that your teacher has disabled certain features in the classroom settings. If you want these features back, you can either ask your teacher to adjust the settings, or leave your classroom.

Examples of what teachers can hide and limit:  

- Mature vocabulary (beer, wine, etc.)  
- Following friends
- Public Leaderboards