The Chinese mobile app “Are You Dead?” that sounds an alarm if a user does not check in every 48 hours has announced it will drop its catchy name for a global audience and introduce a subscription fee, after drawing international media attention.
It rose to the top of paid app rankings on Apple’s App Store in China, prompting widespread media coverage among Chinese and foreign media.
The app — whose Mandarin name Sileme (死了麼) translates to “are you dead?” — is “a lightweight safety tool created for solo dwellers” from students to officer workers or “anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle,” its development team says.
Photo: Reuters
People living alone register the name and e-mail address of someone to contact in an emergency. If the user does not check in regularly on the app, the system automatically sends an alert to the emergency contact warning them of a possible problem.
“After extensive consideration, the Sileme app will officially adopt the global brand name Demumu in its forthcoming new release,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
Demumu is the name of the international version of the app.
China might have up to 200 million one-person households, with a solo living rate exceeding 30 percent, state newspaper the Global Times said.
Sileme said in a statement that the app has “experienced explosive growth overseas” since the publication of an article by the BBC.
“Moving forward, Demumu will remain steadfast in its founding mission of safeguarding safety, bringing China-originated protection solutions to the world and serving more solitary individuals globally,” the company said.
It said on Sunday that it would launch an 8 yuan (US$1.15) payment scheme to help cover increasing costs. Demumu on the App Store was already charging HK$8 (US$1.03) to download the app.
Users expressed surprise online at the rebranding, although its blunt name had divided public opinion.
“Don’t you think your virality is precisely due to your name? Without it, no one would have installed this app, except in cases of absolute emergency,” one Sina Weibo user wrote.
“With this new name, it loses its flavor,” another added.
Others suggested changing the name to “Are You Alive?” “Are You Online?” or “Are You There?”
“Maybe some conservative people can’t accept it,” said one user, but it is helpful for safety purposes. “It will make us unmarried people feel more at ease to spend our lives.”
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