The app that checks if you are dead

A Chinese app that requires you to regularly check in to prove you’re alright has soared in popularity, thanks to the number of people living on their own.

Are You Dead? (Sileme in Mandarin) this week became the most downloaded paid app in the China’s history, and has put the spotlight on the ballooning numbers of single-person households in the country.

Droves of downloads

“The concept is simple”: you must check in every two days by “clicking a large button to confirm that you are alive”, said the BBC.