A viral app that helps people check if their friends are alive sparks discussions about loneliness in China

• "Are you dead?" — a Chinese app that alerts an emergency contact if users go silent — has gone viral.
• Its popularity has triggered debate about loneliness and living alone in China.
• A user on RedNote said they "sense a deep loneliness" behind the app's success.

An app that asks a blunt question — "Are you dead?" — has become a hit in China.

The app, called "Si Le Me" (Chinese for "are you dead"), requires users to "check in" by pressing a button. If they fail to do so for two consecutive days, the app alerts an emergency contact.

Designed for people living alone, "Si Le Me" has surged to become the most popular paid download on China's Apple App Store this week. It costs 8 yuan, or $1.15, to download. The app was launched in mid-2025, but its downloads only surged in early January, according to Chinese media reports.

Its stark, literal name has struck a nerve on Chinese social media, triggering raw discussions about loneliness and the risks of living alone.

Solo living is becoming increasingly common in China, among both young city dwellers and the growing population of old people living independently.

China could have as many as 200 million one-person households by 2030, with more than 30% of people living alone, according to projections published in 2021 by Beike Research Institute, a real-estate research firm.

A government survey in 2021 found that nearly 60% of Chinese age 60 and above lived alone or only with a spouse, up about 10 percentage points from 2010.

One of the app's creators told Chinese media the idea grew out of online conversations about safety and isolation among people living alone. The three co-creators were all born in the mid-1990s.

A wave of online debate about loneliness

The app's sudden rise has sparked a wave of discussion on Chinese social media, with users interpreting its popularity as a symptom of deeper loneliness.

A user who goes by Qian Wei said in their post on RedNote on Monday that they "sense a deep loneliness" behind the app's success.

For much of China's history, kinship formed the basic unit of society, but "this structure has completely collapsed" in the present day, they wrote.

"In big cities, everyone is an isolated, atomized individual. People live in soundproof apartments, not knowing the surname of their neighbors," they wrote in their post.

"This creates an extremely intense fear, which is commonly known as 'lonely death,'" they added.

Other RedNote users echoed the sentiment, describing the app's popularity as a collective "cry of loneliness."

Another user who goes by Huang Mu Xin Sheng wrote on RedNote on Tuesday that the app made them feel "extremely uneasy" because it reduces existence itself to a functional task.

The app has also stirred debate over its stark name. Some users referred to it as inauspicious, likening it to a curse and urging the creators to rename it. Others said they were willing to pay 8 yuan for peace of mind.

Not all reactions were somber. One RedNote user described the app as a form of "meme-style stress relief," a lighthearted way for young people to cope with mounting pressure.

Another user framed the app as a source of certainty in an era when life feels increasingly out of control.

"I check in, therefore I am," they wrote.