Particle.news
Download on the App Store

‘Are You Dead?’ Tops China’s Paid App Chart as Solo-Living Safety Tool Goes Global

Its blunt check-in design meets rising demand from people living alone in China.

Overview

  • Users check in every 48 hours by tapping a green button, and missing two prompts triggers an email to a designated emergency contact.
  • The 8-yuan app remains No. 1 on China’s paid iOS chart and ranks high internationally under the name Demumu, including in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Spain.
  • Built by three founders born after 1995 for roughly 1,000 yuan, Moonscape Technologies is exploring a sale of 10% of the company for 1 million yuan.
  • The app’s name has drawn cultural pushback as inauspicious, and the developers say a rebrand is under consideration.
  • Planned updates include SMS alerts, basic messaging and elder-friendly features, as adoption tracks forecasts of up to 200 million one-person households in China by 2030.