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15m ago

Chinese Check-In App 'Are You Dead?' Tops China’s Paid iPhone Charts and Spreads Globally

The blunt, daily check-in tool taps anxiety about living alone in China as single-person households rise.

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Eine App für Alleinlebende mit dem provokanten Namen "Bist du tot?" erfreut sich in China großer Beliebtheit. Die App, die Alarm schlägt, wenn sich eine Nutzerin oder ein Nutzer 48 Stunden nicht meldet, war am Dienstag eine der beliebtesten kostenpflichtigen Apps in chinesischen App-Stores.
Ein Mann und eine Frau schauen auf ihr Handy

Overview

  • Users press a button to check in, and if they stay inactive for about 48 hours the app emails a preselected emergency contact.
  • The app leads China’s paid App Store and has entered rankings in the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, Spain, Australia and Germany, where it reached the top five paid utilities.
  • Developers say they are weighing a new name and plan to add SMS or in-app messaging and improved accessibility; the iOS version currently relies on email alerts.
  • Journalists and reviewers flag privacy and terms issues, including liability limits for data breaches and possible retention of some data after deletion.
  • A small team of three young developers reportedly built the app for roughly 1,000 yuan and has discussed selling a 10% stake for about one million yuan.