Source: OT-Team(G), BBC, 环球时报
A bleakly named mobile app has surged to the top of China's paid app charts, tapping into a growing anxiety among young people who live by themselves in large cities.
Called "Are You Dead?", the concept is starkly simple. Users must check in every two days by tapping a prominent on-screen button to confirm they are safe. If they fail to do so, the app automatically contacts a pre-designated emergency contact to warn that something may be wrong.
Launched quietly in May last year, the app attracted little attention at first. In recent weeks, however, downloads have soared as urban residents—particularly young professionals and students living alone—have embraced it as a low-cost safety measure. The sudden popularity has made it the most downloaded paid app in China.
The rise of the app mirrors a broader demographic shift. According to figures cited by the state-run Global Times, China could have as many as 200 million one-person households by 2030. The developers explicitly target this group, describing their product as "a safety companion… whether you're a solo office worker, a student living away from home, or anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle."
On Chinese social media, many users say the app reflects real fears about isolation and vulnerability. "People who live alone at any stage of their life need something like this—introverts, those with depression, the unemployed, and others in fragile situations," one user wrote. Another was more direct: "There is a fear that people living alone might die unnoticed, with no one to call for help. I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?"
Wilson Hou, a 38-year-old professional working in Beijing, says those concerns prompted him to download the app. Although he usually returns home to his wife and child twice a week, he is currently staying near a work site about 100 kilometers from his family. "I worry that if something happened to me, I could die alone in the place I rent and no one would know," he said. He set his mother as his emergency contact.
Hou also admitted he rushed to install the app shortly after its release, concerned that its morbid name might lead to it being removed by regulators.
The branding has indeed been controversial. Some users have criticized the name as ominous, arguing that even registering could be seen as inviting bad luck. Others have called for a friendlier alternative such as "Are You OK?" or "How Are You?" While the developers acknowledge that the provocative title helped attract attention, they have also said they are considering a change.
That shift became official on January 13. The company announced that the app will adopt a global brand name, Demumu, in its latest version, with the original Chinese name no longer used as the primary identifier.
Internationally, the app is already listed under the name Demumu and has climbed into the top two paid utility apps in the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and into the top four in Australia and Spain—rankings likely driven in part by overseas Chinese users.
The original name was itself a pun, modeled on the popular Chinese food-delivery platform whose name sounds similar in Mandarin. Despite its dark humor, the app has now moved from a free model to a paid one, priced modestly at 8 yuan (about US$1.15).
Little is publicly known about the founders. They describe themselves as three entrepreneurs born after 1995 who built the app in Zhengzhou, Henan province, with a small team. One co-founder, known as Mr. Guo, told Chinese media they plan to raise funds by selling 10% of the company for 1 million yuan—a sharp increase from the roughly 1,000 yuan they say it cost to develop.
The team is also looking beyond young urbanites. In a country where more than one-fifth of the population is now over 60, they are exploring a version designed specifically for older adults. In a recent post, the company wrote: "We would like to call on more people to pay attention to the elderly who are living at home, to give them more care and understanding. They have dreams, strive to live, and deserve to be seen, respected and protected."
A Global Loneliness Problem
While the app is rooted in China's rapidly changing urban landscape, the concerns it addresses are far from unique. Across developed and developing economies alike, one-person households are rising as populations age, young people migrate to cities for work, and traditional family structures evolve. In countries such as Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States, living alone has become a common life stage rather than an exception.
With that shift comes a set of practical and emotional risks: medical emergencies without immediate help, mental health struggles compounded by isolation, and the unsettling possibility of going unnoticed in a crisis. High-profile cases in several countries of people dying alone and being discovered days or even weeks later have intensified public awareness.
Digital tools like Demumu reflect a broader trend toward technology-mediated care—simple, low-friction systems that bridge the gap between independence and safety. Unlike comprehensive health-monitoring devices, this app relies on a basic human action: a regular check-in. Its appeal lies precisely in that minimalism, offering reassurance without surveillance.
As more people around the world choose—or find themselves in—solo living arrangements, the success of this once-obscure Chinese app suggests that the question it poses, however bluntly, resonates well beyond national borders.
What do you think—do apps like Demumu provide a necessary safety net for people living alone, or are they a sign of growing isolation in modern life? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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