Are You Dead?
looorg writes:
Apparently there is a new app. If you don't use your phone enough or if there is no activity it informs your next of kin that you might be dead.
A new bleak-sounding app has taken China by storm.
Named Are You Dead? the concept is simple. You need to check in with it every two days - clicking a large button - to confirm that you are alive. If not, it will get in touch with your appointed emergency contact and inform them that you may be in trouble.
It was launched in May last year to not much fanfare but attention around it has exploded in recent weeks with many young people, who live alone in Chinese cities, downloading it in droves.
The app, which is listed internationally under the name Demumu, ranks in the top two in the US, Singapore and Hong Kong, and top four in Australia and Spain for paid utility apps - possibly driven by Chinese users living overseas.
Still if you are so lonely and have no friends or family. Who will it contact? Is the contact then "big-brother"?
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/are-you-dead-viral-chinese-app-changing-its-name/
https://www.euronews.com/next/2026/01/14/what-is-the-are-you-dead-app-and-why-is-it-so-popular-in-china-and-beyond
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3381r5nnn6o
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