Aimed at young Chinese who live alone, a new app asks: ‘Are you dead?’

BEIJING — In China, the names of things are often either richly poetic or shockingly simple. A very popular new app among young Chinese people is definitely the latter.

It’s simply called “Are You Dead?” »

In a vast country whose young people are increasingly on the move, the new one-button app – which has taken the country by storm this month – is essentially exactly what it claims to be. People who live alone in distant cities and may be at risk – or simply perceived as such by friends or relatives – can display an oversized green circle on their phone screen and send proof of life over the network to a friend or loved one. The cost: 8 yuan (about $1.10).

It’s simple and straightforward: essentially a 21st century Chinese digital version of those American panic-button pendants for the elderly that gave rise to the famous TV commercial: “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

Developed by three young people in their twenties, “Are You Dead?” became the most downloaded paid app on Apple’s App Store in China last week, according to local media. It’s also becoming a popular download in places as diverse as Singapore and the Netherlands, Britain, India and the United States – in keeping with the developers’ attitude that loneliness and safety are not just Chinese problems.

“Every country has young people moving to big cities to pursue their dreams,” Ian Lü, 29, one of the app’s developers, said on Thursday.

Lü, who worked and lived alone for five years in the southern city of Shenzhen, experienced such loneliness himself. He said the need for frictionless check-in is particularly strong among introverts. “It’s unrealistic,” he said, “to send messages to people every day just to tell them you’re still alive. »

In the context of modern and increasingly frenetic Chinese life, the app market is understandable.

Traditionally, Chinese families tend to live together or at least in close proximity across generations – a trait deeply ingrained in the national culture until recent years. The situation has changed in recent decades as urbanization and rapid economic growth have pushed many Chinese to join what is effectively a diaspora within their own nation – and alienated hundreds of millions from their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Today, the country has more than 100 million single-person households, according to an annual report from the National Bureau of Statistics of China in 2024.

Take the example of Chen Xingyu, 32, who has lived alone for years in Kunming, the capital of southern China’s Yunnan province. “It’s new and funny. The name ‘Are You Dead?’ is very interesting,” Chen said.

Chen, a “flatline” practitioner who has rejected the grueling, fast-paced careers of many in her age group, would try the app but worries about data security. “Assuming that many of those who want to try are female users, if such detailed user information was leaked, it would be terrible,” she said.

Yuan Sangsang, a designer from Shanghai, has lived alone for a decade and describes herself as “one cow and one horse.” She’s not hoping the app will save her life – it’ll only help her loved ones in case she expires alone.

“I just don’t want to die without dignity, as if the body becomes rotten and stinking before it is found,” Yuan, 38, said. “It would be unfair to those who have to deal with it.”

Although such an app may at first glance seem best suited to older adults – regardless of their smartphone savvy – all reports indicate that “Are You Dead?” » is perceived by young people as the ironic equivalent of a recording on social networks.

“Some netizens say that the message ‘Are you dead?’ The greeting resembles a carefree joke between close friends – both sincere and gives a sense of unguarded ease,” business website Yicai, the Chinese Business Network, said in a comment. “This probably explains why so many young people unanimously love this app.”

Writer He Tao’s commentary went further in analyzing the cultural landscape. He wrote that the app’s immediate success “serves as a social metaphor for dark humor, reminding us to pay attention to the living conditions and inner world of contemporary youth. Those who downloaded it clearly need more than just a functional safety measure; they crave a signal to be seen and understood.”

Death is a taboo subject in Chinese culture, and the word itself is shunned to the point that many buildings in China do not have a fourth floor because the word for “four” and the word for “death” sound the same: “if.” Lü acknowledged that the app’s name had sparked public pressure.

“Death is a problem that each of us must face,” he said. “Only when you truly understand death do you begin to think about how long you can exist in this world and how you want to realize the value of your life.”

A few days ago, however, the developers announced on their official account on the Chinese social platform Weibo that they would adopt a new name. Their choice: the more enigmatic “Demumu”, which they hoped could “serve more of the world’s solitary inhabitants”.

And then, twist: Wednesday evening, the application team posted on its Weibo account that learning the name Demumu had not gone “as well as expected”. The application team is offering a reward to whoever suggests a new name which will be chosen this weekend. Lü said more than 10,000 people had taken a stand.

The reward for the new nickname: 96 dollars – or, in China, 666 yuan.

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Fu Ting reported from Washington. AP researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed.