Beijing. In China, the names of things are often either ornately poetic or jarringly direct. A new, wildly popular app among young Chinese people is definitively the latter.

It is called, simply, “Are You Dead?”

In a vast country where young people are increasingly on the move, the one-button app — which has taken China by digital storm this month — is exactly what it sounds like. People who live alone in far-off cities and may be at risk, or are simply perceived as such by friends or relatives, can tap an oversized green circle on their phone screens and send proof of life to a friend or loved one. The cost: 8 yuan (about $1.10).

It is simple and straightforward — essentially a 21st-century Chinese digital version of the American emergency pendants worn by senior citizens that inspired the famous TV commercial: “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!”

Developed by three people in their 20s, “Are You Dead?” became the most downloaded paid app on Apple’s App Store in China last week, according to local media reports. It is also gaining traction in places as diverse as Singapore and the Netherlands, Britain, India and the United States — reflecting the developers’ belief that loneliness and safety are not uniquely Chinese concerns.

“Every country has young people who move to big cities to chase their dreams,” said Ian Lü, 29, one of the app’s developers.

Lü, who lived and worked alone in the southern city of Shenzhen for five years, said he experienced that loneliness himself. He said the need for a frictionless check-in is especially strong among introverts.

“It’s unrealistic,” he said, “to message people every day just to tell them you’re still alive.”

A Reflection of Life in Modern China

Against the backdrop of modern, increasingly frenetic Chinese life, the market for the app is easy to understand.

Traditionally, Chinese families lived together or at least close to one another across generations — a pattern deeply embedded in the nation’s culture until recent decades. That has changed with urbanization and rapid economic growth, which have sent many Chinese into what is effectively a diaspora within their own country, separating hundreds of millions from parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

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

Consider Chen Xingyu, 32, who has lived alone for years in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

“It is new and funny. The name ‘Are You Dead?’ is very interesting,” Chen said.

Chen, a practitioner of the “lying flat” lifestyle who has rejected the grueling career paths common among her peers, said she would consider trying the app but worries about data security.

“Assuming many who want to try it are women users, if detailed user information gets leaked, that would be terrible,” she said.

Yuan Sangsang, a Shanghai designer who has lived alone for a decade, describes herself as a “single cow and horse,” a colloquial phrase for someone who works hard alone. She is not hoping the app will save her life — only help her relatives if she does, in fact, die alone.

“I just don’t want to die with no dignity, like the body gets rotten and smelly before it is found,” said Yuan, 38. “That would be unfair to the ones who have to deal with it.”

Tapping into A Deeper Anxiety

While such an app might seem better suited to elderly users, reports suggest that “Are You Dead?” is being embraced by younger people as a wry form of social check-in.

“Some netizens say that the ‘Are you dead?’ greeting feels like a carefree joke between close friends — both heartfelt and relaxed,” the business news outlet Yicai said in a commentary. “It likely explains why so many young people like this app.”

The commentary, by writer He Tao, went further, calling the app’s success “a darkly humorous social metaphor” that highlights the emotional needs of contemporary young people.

“Those who downloaded it clearly need more than a functional safety measure,” He wrote. “They crave a signal of being seen and understood.”

That name, however, has proven controversial.

Death remains a taboo subject in Chinese culture. Many buildings in China skip the fourth floor because the word for “four” sounds like the word for “death.” Lü acknowledged the app’s name sparked public pressure.

“Death is an issue every one of us has to face,” he said. “Only when you truly understand death do you start thinking about how long you exist in this world and how you want to realize the value of your life.”

Early Friday, the app had disappeared from Apple’s App Store in China, at least temporarily. The developers declined to explain why, saying only that the removal “occurred suddenly.”

Days earlier, the team announced on its official Weibo account that it planned to adopt a new name: “Demumu,” which they said they hoped would “serve more solo dwellers globally.”

Then came another twist. Late Wednesday, the developers posted that the Demumu rebranding effort had not gone “as well as expected.” They are now offering a reward for a new name to be selected this weekend. Lü said more than 10,000 people have already weighed in.

The reward for the winning moniker: $96 — or, in China, 666 yuan.

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