China’s ‘Are You Dead?’ app goes viral: Here’s why

China’s new app called “Are You Dead?” has taken the internet by storm and is becoming popular among the solo dwellers.

Being a safety app, this aims to keep a check on people who live alone and have fear dying alone without anyone realizing.

Launched in May 2025, the application requires users to check in every two days by clicking a large button. It will confirm that they are alive. If the user fails to do so on a prescribed time, the app automatically alerts appointed emergency contacts and informs them that something might be wrong.

In recent weeks, its popularity has surged as people who live alone in Chinese cities downloaded the app for their safety. Eventually, it has become the most downloaded paid app in China.

According to Chinese state media outlet Global Times, Up to 200 million one-person households would exist in China by 2030.

Being called as a “safety companion”, the app targets people with solitary lifestyles whether they are students, office workers, or solo dwellers.

One user said, “People who live alone at any stage of their life need something like this, as do introverts, those with depression, the unemployed and others in vulnerable situations.”

Another user wrote, “There is a fear that people living alone might die unnoticed, with no one to call for help. I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?”

Are You Dead? app first introduced as a free for the users. Now, its paid version has been available at the low price of 8 yuan.