It may sound morbid, but China’s new top paid App Store app—Are You Dead?—is spiking in popularity among iPhone users who live alone. Here are the details.
Stephen McDonell writes at the BBC:
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. This has propelled it to become the most downloaded paid app in the country.
McDonell notes that researchers expect China will have around 200 million one-person households by 2030.
The success of Are You Dead? is clearly a reflection of that growing trend.
Users outside of China can download the app too. It’s called Demumu, and is currently the #6 top paid app in the US App Store with a $0.99 price.
BBC says the app’s name “is a word play on a successful food delivery app called “Are you Hungry?”. In Chinese, “Si-le-ma” sounds like the name of the food app “E-le-ma”.
It’s an interesting concept and, if its popularity continues, I wonder if Apple might adapt and expand iOS’s current Check In feature in Messages to include a regular check-in like this.
Do you think Apple should add similar functionality to iOS? Let us know in the comments.
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