‘Are You Dead?’ app sends solo dying alert

BEIJING, China (AFP) — The Chinese mobile app “Are You Dead?” that sounds an alarm if a user does not check in every 48 hours, has announced it will drop its catchy name, after drawing international media attention.

“After extensive consideration, the ‘Sileme’ app will officially adopt the global brand name ‘Demumu’ in its forthcoming new release,” the developer (Moonscape Technologies) said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

The app, whose name “Sileme” in Mandarin translates to “are you dead?” allows people living alone to register the name and email address of someone to contact in an emergency.

If the user does not check in regularly on the app, the system automatically sends an alert to the emergency contact warning them of a possible problem.