Overview
- The iOS-only app, priced at about 8 yuan, asks users to check in daily and emails a designated contact if there is no activity for two days.
- Following a surge of overseas attention, developers said the global version will adopt the new name “Demumu” and introduce a subscription, raising the price from 1 yuan to 8 yuan.
- In China, prominent voices such as former Global Times editor Hu Xijin urged a softer name like “Are You Alive?”, and the app’s account said it would seriously consider a change.
- Users and commentators questioned the app’s reliance on manual check-ins and email notifications, warning alerts could arrive too late and may be hard for some older users to adopt.
- The trend aligns with official figures showing over 92 million people in China live alone with projections of 150–200 million by 2030, while reports still conflict over the developer, naming Moonscape Technologies or Zhengzhou-based Jishu Fuwu.