Are You Dead?

Are You Dead?
Stable release
iOS/iPadOS1.1 / 15 December 2025 (2025-12-15)
Operating system
Available inSimplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English
Websitedemumu.co

Are You Dead? (Chinese: 死了么; pinyin: Sǐleme), also known by its English name Demumu, is a Chinese application designed for young people living alone. It requires setting up one emergency contact and sends automatic notifications if the user has not checked in via the app for consecutive days.

The app was released on the App Store on 10 June 2025. In early January 2026, the application gained popularity due to its name and the issue of safety for people living alone, and ranked high on the list of paid applications in the Chinese region of the Apple App Store before being removed. The app's rise in popularity sparked discussions about taboos about death in China.

History

Are You Dead? was founded and operated independently by three people born in the 1990s, and developed in a way that involved remote collaboration in their spare time.[1]  According to the New Yellow River report, Guo, the product manager, said that the application was designed for young people and that the inspiration came from the discussion of netizens on social platforms about "an app that everyone must have and will definitely download" that he observed two or three years ago. The name was also "not their original creation". After realizing its potential demand and social significance, the team successfully registered the name and completed the product development in about a month.[2][3] Regarding the development entity, the New Yellow River cited information from the Apple App Store that the application was developed by Yuejing (Zhengzhou) Technology Service Co., Ltd. According to Tianyancha information, the company was established in March 2025 with a registered capital of 100,000 yuan.[2]

Rise in popularity

The app has been generating buzz on social media since 9 January 2026, due to its name and the topic of safety for people living alone. Around 10 January, it topped the Apple paid app chart.[1] As of 10:00 a.m. on January 11, it ranked first in the App Store paid app chart.[4][5] It also ranked highly in the utility app chart; it ranked first or second in the paid utility app charts in the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong, and first or fourth in Australia and Spain.[6] The app was subsequently removed from the Apple App Store in China.[7]

In terms of functionality and usage, First Financial praised the product for its "simple interface and single function," but pointed out that the interface lacks a display of consecutive check-in days, and there is also the possibility that users may forget to check in, leading to the mistaken issuance of reminders. In addition, since the application mainly relies on email reminders and lacks SMS or telephone notifications, it does not conform to Chinese social habits; the untimely notifications also make the application more like a "death notification" tool, losing its early warning significance for emergency rescue.[8] Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, commented on the application on Weibo that it is "really good and can help many lonely elderly people." The Beijing News Quick Review pointed out that the role of technical tools is limited and needs to be connected with real support such as community patrols and liaison mechanisms.[4] Due to the price increase, there have also been questions about the motivation for the price increase.[1]

The app's rise in popularity sparked discussions about taboos about death in China.[9][7] Regarding the popularity of the application, both Southern Metropolis Daily and The Beijing News commented that it reflects the public issue of the risks of living alone and reflects the general anxiety of the living alone group about dying alone.[4][5] Shangguan News further pointed out that although such technology products provide a certain "low-cost sense of security", their "cold notifications" may not only cause false alarms, but also highlight the embarrassing reality that "there is no one to fill in the emergency contact". It also emphasized that algorithms or applications cannot bring true happiness and called on society to reconstruct a support network full of humanistic care while relying on technology.[10]

The name of the application has also sparked controversy. Most netizens believe that the name "Are You Dead?" is unlucky and makes it awkward to share the application. They suggest changing it to a milder name such as "Are You Alive?".[1][5] Hu Xijin also said that the name change could "give the elderly who use it more psychological comfort" and "believe that the application will become more popular after the name change".[11] Some people also believe that this straightforward name just points out the real dilemma faced by people living alone and has a special meaning.[4] BBC News commented that the name "Are You Dead" is playing a word game with Ele.me (Chinese: 饿了么; pinyin: Èleme) and the pronunciation is also similar. Legal professionals believe that its name is highly similar to Ele.me and may cause confusion.[1] They also raised the possibility of trademark infringement and unfair competition.  However, the developers said that the application is developed for young people and death is not a sensitive topic. They will "consider launching a new application that is more suitable for middle-aged and elderly people". They have not yet received any name change requests from relevant departments.[2] On the evening of 13 January 2026, the Are You Dead? team announced that it would change its name to the English brand name Demumu in the upcoming new version.[12]

On 11 January, the development team also issued a statement through its official Weibo account, stating that it would study the renaming suggestion and plan to enrich the SMS reminder function, consider adding the message function and explore the direction of age-friendly products; it also stated that it would launch an 8 yuan paid plan to cover the costs of SMS, servers, etc., and welcomed investors to discuss cooperation. In terms of financing and valuation, it plans to sell 10% of the company's shares for 1 million yuan and proposed a valuation of 10 million yuan.[1] On the evening of January 15, the application was removed from the app store in mainland China.[13]

Functions

The application does not require users to enter phone numbers or other information to register. After filling in their name and setting an emergency contact, users can click the sign-in button every day. If they fail to sign in for two consecutive days, the system will send an email reminder to the emergency contact the next day.[2][1][5] In addition, users can also bind a smart bracelet to monitor physiological signs, pre-designate a hearse driver and funeral music, and trigger the "one-click body collection" function when no pulse is detected.[14] The application was initially available for free download, but a one yuan paid download option was introduced at the end of 2025. In January 2026, the application team issued a statement saying that an 8 yuan paid option would be launched based on the costs of SMS, servers, etc.[1][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Song, Jianan (2026-01-11). ""死了么"团队再次回应争议：将考虑更名并与资方合作" [The "Are You Dead?" team responded to the controversy again: they will consider changing their name and cooperating with investors.]. Jiemian News (in Chinese (China)).
  2. ^ a b c d Zheng, Xu (2026-01-10). ""死了么"App名字引发争议，产品负责人最新回应：暂时没考虑改名" [The name of the app "Are You Dead?" has sparked controversy, and the product manager's latest response is that there are no plans to change the name at the moment.]. New Yellow River News (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  3. ^ "独居安全App"死了么"引发争议，团队回应改名、收费等问题" [The "Are You Dead?" app for safety of people living alone has sparked controversy, with the team responding to questions regarding renaming and charging fees.]. Hunan Daily. 2026-01-11. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  4. ^ a b c d Chi, Daohua (2026-01-11). ""死了么"App爆火，戳中了独居安全痛点" [The viral success of the "Are You Dead?" app highlights the safety concerns of those living alone]. The Beijing News (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d ""死了么"走红，独居风险不容忽视" [The viral question "Are you dead?" highlights the significant risks of living alone.]. Southern Metropolis Daily (评论) (in Chinese (China)). 2026-01-11.
  6. ^ McDonell, Stephen (2026-01-13). "「死了麼」：一款爆紅的中國獨居年輕人熱門應用程式" ["Are You Dead?": A wildly popular app among young Chinese people living alone.]. BBC News. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
  7. ^ a b Anthony, Ted; Ting, Fu (2026-01-15). "An app's blunt life check adds another layer to the loneliness crisis in China". Associated Press. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  8. ^ Lü, Qian (2026-01-11). ""死了么"从一元涨至八元，曾被苹果AppStore多次清榜" [The price of "Are You Dead?" rose from one yuan to eight yuan, and it was removed from the Apple App Store rankings multiple times.]. China Business Network (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  9. ^ Parete, Dalia (2026-01-13). "Are You Dead Yet?". China Media Project. Retrieved 2026-01-15.
  10. ^ Cao, Gang (2026-01-12). 潘高峰 (ed.). ""死了么"APP爆火，但算法给不了幸福感" [The "Are You Dead?" app is a viral sensation, but algorithms can't deliver happiness]. Shangguan News (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2026-01-12.
  11. ^ a b ""死了么"App登顶中国苹果付费软件榜" [The "Are You Dead?" app topped the Chinese Apple paid app chart.]. Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese (China)). 2026-01-11. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  12. ^ ""死了么"将改名为Demumu！创始人曾称不认为名字不好" ["Are You Dead?" will be renamed Demumu! The founder previously stated that he did not think the name was bad.]. Nanfang Daily Newspaper Group. 2026-01-13. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  13. ^ Yang, Zai. "独居安全 App"死了么"从苹果 App Store 国区下架" [The "Dead?" app for ensuring safety for people living alone has been removed from the Apple App Store in China.]. ITHome. Retrieved 2026-01-22.
  14. ^ Qiu, Bai (10 January 2026). "死了么app名称引争议 开发者：本意希望提醒每个人面对当下" [The app name "Are You Dead?" sparks controversy; developer says the intention was to remind everyone to face the present moment.]. Fast Technology. Retrieved 2026-01-12.
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