Newsroom
Your phone asks you one simple question: “Are you dead?” In China, that blunt question has turned into one of the country’s most downloaded paid apps, and it's easy to see why.
Its job is simple: users tap a button once a day to check in. Miss two days in a row, and the app automatically alerts an emergency contact.
No drama. No long forms. Just a quiet safety net.
The app’s sudden rise comes as more people in China are living alone, young adults who delay marriage or skip it entirely and older people whose families live far away. With fewer people at home, the fear isn’t just loneliness. It’s what happens if something goes wrong and no one notices.
China’s population has been shrinking for three straight years, and one-person households are on the rise. Experts say this shift makes tools like daily check-ins more necessary than ever.
One of the app’s creators said its main users are young city dwellers, especially women in their 20s, who live alone and worry about emergencies happening behind closed doors.
Some researchers say the app also reflects a deeper anxiety among younger generations and uncertainty about the future, jobs, and stability. Downloading it, they argue, is a quiet way of admitting that things feel less secure than they used to.
Others point out the app could be even more useful for elderly people living alone, though some may struggle with the technology. Similar systems already exist, like smart devices that alert relatives if a fridge or TV hasn’t been used for days.
The name has sparked debate. Some say it’s too harsh and should be softened. The creator disagrees, saying it’s not meant to scare, just to remind people to value the present.
Blunt? Yes.
But in a world where more people live alone, being checked on might be better than being silent.
*With information from Financial Times and AFP
