PROOF of LIFE

I talked to the Gen Z developer behind China’s trendiest mobile app this week: 死了么 (Are You Dead Yet), which checks in with you every day to make sure you are not dead. And if you don’t respond, it lets your emergency contact know.

Guo, one of three developers behind the…

— Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 (@ZeyiYang) January 13, 2026

ARE YOU DEAD YET?
https://wired.com/china-are-you-dead-yet-app
https://pcmag.com/personal-safety-app-are-you-dead-hits-iphone
app will alert trusted contacts if you don’t hit a button in the app every two days.
by James Peckham / January 14, 2026

“A morbid-sounding iPhone app called “Are You Dead?” has proven to be a viral hit and now sits in the top 10 most-downloaded paid-for services, according to Apple’s US chart. In China, the app is the most downloaded paid-for app on iPhone. The safety app is a dead man’s switch designed for users who live alone and may not have someone local to regularly check on their well-being. If you download the app, you must hit a green button with a ghost symbol in the center every two days. If you fail to do so, it’ll send an email to your emergency contact on the third day for them to check on you.

The app first launched in May 2025, but has gained momentum in recent weeks. It’s now at number five in the US. It was initially free but now costs $0.99 in the US. The developer also changed the app’s name outside of China, where it’s called Demumu instead of Are You Dead? In China it’s known as Sileme, which translates to “are you dead?” Perhaps capitalizing on that popularity, a separate Sileme app is also available on the App Store from a different developer.

However, it seems to function more as a mood tracker. It’s not clear when it appeared on the App Store. Another app, dubbed Am I Dead Yet?, provides a check-in option like Demumu. Demumu says the service is intended to “make solitary life more reassuring” and isn’t exclusively useful for older people. “Whether you’re a solo office worker, a student living away from home, or anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle, Demumu serves as your safety companion.”

There’s no Android version of Demumu at the moment. As noted by Android Authority, Google’s Personal Safety app for Android phones has a Safety Check feature that lets you set a check-in timer for your phone to confirm you’re safe. (Apple’s iOS Check In feature does the same.) If you prefer an automatic feature like Demumu, Android alternatives include Life360 and Snug Safety.”

NO MOM I’M FINE
https://lifehacker.com/why-you-need-a-digital-dead-man-s-switch
https://euronews.com/next/2026/are-you-dead-app
by Roselyne Min / 14/01/2026

“For relatives of the millions of people living alone, a missed phone call or unanswered message can quickly turn into a worry. In China, a mobile app tracking whether users are still alive is climbing Apple’s paid App Store charts, tapping into growing concern about what happens when people live alone. The app, called ‘Are You Dead?’ and known in Mandarin Chinese, asks users to confirm they are safe each day by tapping a large green button. If no check-in is recorded for two consecutive days, the system automatically sends an email to the user’s emergency contact.

On the Apple store, developers describe the app as a “lightweight safety tool” made for people living alone to “establish invisible safety protection through check-in monitoring and emergency contact mechanisms to make solitary life more reassuring”. Launched last year as a free app, it gradually climbed the charts in Apple’s paid category, becoming the top paid app in China in the first week of January, currently priced at 8 yuan (about €1). Listed internationally under the name ‘Demumu’, the app has also risen into the top two paid utility apps in the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Its overseas popularity has been driven largely by Chinese immigrants, according to media reports.

Its popularity comes as China sees a sharp rise in the number of people living alone. According to a report from Beike Research Institute, cited in China Daily, the number of people living alone in China is expected to reach 150 million to 200 million by 2030. These people were likely to “experience a strong sense of loneliness due to the lack of people to communicate with … accompanied by … worries about unforeseen events occurring without anyone knowing”, one of the founding trio who called himself Mr Lyu told the Financial Times newspaper.

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies social isolation as a risk factor for anxiety, poor mental health, and mortality among older people. Loneliness is also a widespread issue in Europe. According to the 2022 EU loneliness survey, more than a third of Europeans feel lonely. Meanwhile, 2024 EU data shows that over 75 million households consist of single adults without children.”

LONELINESS MANAGEMENT
https://gizmodo.com/app-are-you-dead-is-climbing-the-apple-charts
https://androidauthority.com/are-you-dead-app-android-alternatives
Android already offers drama-free alternatives to this morbid, useful app
by Adamya Sharma / January 13, 2026

“A grim, new iPhone app called “Are You Dead?” is going viral by tapping into the very real fear of dying unnoticed. The app’s concept is brutally straightforward. Users must tap a big green button every two days to confirm if they’re still alive. If they don’t, the app alerts their chosen emergency contact that something may be wrong. That’s it. There’s no health tracking, no sensors, just a digital “Are you dead” button. Are You Dead? is a paid app and also available internationally as “Demumu.”

As BBC notes in this article, it has become extremely popular among young people living alone in Chinese cities, where millions work far away from their family. With China expected to have around 200 million one-person households by 2030, the fear of dying alone has turned this morbid app into a cultural hit. But while Are You Dead? feels new, Android users already have something very similar, and in many cases, much better.

On Android phones, users can download Google’s Personal Safety app and its built-in Safety Check feature for the same purpose. It’s just not as grimly named, but Safety Check lets you set a check-in timer to confirm if you’re safe. If you don’t confirm you’re okay, your phone will automatically share your location and send an alert to your emergency contacts. No app download required.

The only limitation here is that you can’t set up a recurring Safety Check with Google’s Personal Safety app; it’s a one-off timer that you must manually start each time. Once you set up the Are You Dead? app, you don’t have to re-arm it like Safety Check. However, there are other Android apps that offer similar features, like Snug Safety or Life360, both of which trigger alerts if someone misses a scheduled check-in. The difference is that Are You Dead? makes the fear explicit, while Android’s tools have been quietly doing the same job, just with friendlier names.”

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