A new app for young people living alone has taken China by storm. Named Are You Dead? You need to check in with it every two days – clicking a large button – to confirm that you are alive, El.kz reports.

It was launched in May last year to not much fanfare but attention around it has exploded in recent weeks with many young people, who live alone in Chinese cities, downloading it in droves.

The app, which is listed internationally under the name Demumu, ranks in the top two in the US, Singapore and Hong Kong, and top four in Australia and Spain for paid utility apps - possibly driven by Chinese users living overseas.

According to research institutions, there may be up to 200 million one-person households in China by 2030.

Many young office workers and students are moving to cities, leaving their families, and leading increasingly isolated lives. On social media, Chinese users openly share their fears: they worry about dying alone and that their bodies might only be discovered days or even weeks later.

The app “Are You Dead?” addresses these concerns by offering a simple alert mechanism that provides a sense of security. It is not just a gadget - it is a tool that helps people cope with loneliness in the age of digitalization.

A digital “heir” is a trusted person (or several people) who gets access to your digital assets after your die. This makes it possible to preserve memories, manage profiles, or even delete them to prevent misuse.

A digital heir does not gain access automatically - they must be appointed in advance through the platform’s settings. In most cases, this process is free and simple, but it requires confirmation from the chosen person. Importantly, not all data is transferred: for example, passwords or purchased content may be excluded. This is governed by company policies and, in some countries, by laws on digital inheritance.