‘Are You Dead?’ New app, built for just ₹13,000 by three young men, goes viral; now valued at ₹13 crore | Today News

A new app called “Are You Dead?” has gained immense popularity in China. It is especially viral among young people living alone in cities.

The idea is simple but worrying. Users must press a button every two days to confirm they are alive. If they fail to do so, the app alerts an emergency contact.

Launched quietly in May 2025, the app recently gained massive attention. It is now the most downloaded paid app in China.

Very little is known about the founders. They claim to be three young men born after 1995, working from Zhengzhou with a small team.

The app reportedly cost just 1,000 yuan (around ₹13,000) to build. Now, they plan to raise funds by selling 10% of the company for one million yuan ( ₹1.3 crore), the BBC reported. This means the company is now valued at ₹13 crore.

Experts say China may have nearly 200 million single-person households by 2030, according to the BBC. The app targets solo workers, students living away from home and people choosing to live alone. It offers them a basic sense of security.

The success of the app has a lot to do with its catchy and shocking name. However, Moonscape Technologies, the company behind it, has said it is listening to criticism and may change the name.

The company is also planning to expand its audience by creating a separate product for elderly users. In China, more than one-fifth of the population is over 60.

In a recent post, the company urged people to care more for elderly individuals living alone.

"We would like to call on more people to pay attention to the elderly who are living at home, to give them more care and understanding. They have dreams, strive to live, and deserve to be seen, respected and protected," the BBC quoted the company as stating.

Internationally, the app is listed as Demumu. According to the BBC, it is performing very well outside China. It is reportedly ranking among the top paid utility apps in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Spain.

Much of this popularity is believed to come from Chinese users living abroad, the publication added.

The current name is a wordplay on a famous Chinese food delivery app, “Are You Hungry?”. In Mandarin, “Si-le-ma” sounds similar to “E-le-ma”.

That makes it familiar and attention-grabbing. The app was first launched for free. But, it is now a paid app, priced cheaply at 8 yuan (a little over ₹100).

"People who live alone at any stage of their life need something like this, as do introverts, those with depression, the unemployed and others in vulnerable situations," posted another.

One of them wrote, "I worry that if something happened to me, I could die alone in the place I rent and no-one would know. That's why I downloaded the app and I set my mum as my emergency contact."