Viral ‘Are You Dead?’ app to change its nameAFP and Reuters, BEIJING and HONG KONGThe Chinese mobile app “Are You Dead?” that sounds an alarm if a user does not check in every 48 hours has announced it will drop its catchy name for a global audience and introduce a subscription fee, after drawing international media attention. It rose to the top of paid app rankings on Apple’s App Store in China, prompting widespread media coverage among Chinese and foreign media. The app — whose Mandarin name Sileme (死了麼) translates to “are you dead?” — is “a lightweight safety tool created for solo dwellers” from students to officer workers or “anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle,” its development team says. A person holds a cellphone displaying the Demumu app, a Chinese safety tool designed for people living alone, in a photograph taken yesterday. Demumu on the App Store was already charging HK$8 (US$1.03) to download the app.

Source: Taipei Times January 14, 2026 17:27 UTC