20/01/2026

LYFE TUESDAY | JAN 20, 2026

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Are You Dead? A RE You Dead? – an app that sounds the alarm if a user does not check in every 48 hours – was o Chinese app for solo dwellers goes viral a trial – but eight yuan feels a bit expensive.” If the worst happened, employed people’s workplaces would generally realise something was wrong before family and friends, she said, adding that the app’s name “feels a bit too violent”.

recently one of China’s top-selling paid apps as the country’s growing class of solo dwellers flocked to download it. More and more people in the world’s second largest economy are living alone as marriage rates decline and the number of elderly empty-nesters grows. Created by Moonscape Technologies, the app pitches itself as a “safety tool crafted for solo dwellers... to make solitary life more reassuring”. Although its blunt name has divided opinion, it had still shot to the top of the Chinese iOS store’s list of paid apps by Jan 11. The Chinese name “sileme”, a play on the name of a popular food delivery app, is a curt phrasing that translates to “are you dead” or simply “dead?”. With a ghost as its icon, the app takes users to a landing page where they are asked to enter their name and an emergency contact’s email. “If you haven’t checked in for two days, the system will send an email to your emergency contact,” a version available internationally tells users. On the streets of Beijing, some of the app’s target market were dubious. Yaya Song, a 27-year-old IT worker who lives alone, said she was intrigued but that it cost too much. “If it were free, I’d download it to try out – even charging one yuan (RM0.58) would be reasonable for Viral Chinese app ‘Are You Dead?’ to change its name 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. It rose to the top of paid app rankings on Apple’s App Store in China, prompting widespread media coverage among Chinese and foreign press. 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. “After extensive consideration, the ‘Sileme’ app will officially adopt the global brand name ‘Demumu’ in its forthcoming new release,” the company said in a statement. It said the app has “experienced explosive growth overseas” since the publication of an article by British broadcaster BBC. Other foreign

Student Huang Zixuan agreed. “If I wanted my grandparents to download this app, I probably wouldn’t be able to bring myself to say the name,” the 20-year-old said. In 2024, people who lived alone accounted for around one fifth of all Chinese households, compared with 15% a decade earlier, official data showed. “I guess as we reach middle age, everyone starts to worry about their own affairs after death,” said 36-year-old office worker Sasa Wang. Recently, the former editor of state-backed tabloid Global Times , Hu Xijin, praised the app’s potential, especially for the elderly. He suggested changing its name to “Are you alive?” “This way, it will give elderly people who use it more psychological comfort,” he wrote on social media. The app’s account responded on social media that it would “seriously look into and consider” changing the name. But others begged them to keep it. “It’s good to face the issue of death,” the top-liked comment read. – AFP media outlets, including AFP, also covered the app’s success. “Demumu” was already the name of the international version of the app, and “Are You Dead?” the Chinese version’s. “Moving forward, Demumu will remain steadfast in its founding mission of safeguarding safety, bringing China-originated protection solutions to the world and serving more solitary individuals globally,” the company’s statement added. Users expressed surprise online at the change rebranding, although its blunt name had divided public opinion. “Don’t you think your virality is precisely due to your name? Without it, no one would have installed this app, except in cases of absolute emergency,” said one Weibo user. “With this new name, it loses its flavour,” another added. The name “sileme” was a play on the name of a popular food delivery app “Eleme”. In 2024, people who lived alone accounted for around one fifth of all Chinese households, compared to 15% a decade earlier, official data showed. – AFP ‘Are you alive?’ Others saw the appeal.

The ‘Are You Dead?’ app, or ‘Demumu’ in its English version, a Chinese safety tool designed for people living alone, on a mobile phone in this illustration picture. – REUTERSPIC

Mattel introduces ‘autistic Barbie’ MATTEL has unveiled an autistic Barbie, the toy giant’s latest offering aimed at allowing a broader range of children “to see themselves” in the iconic plastic doll. guidance from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, a disability rights organisation seeking equal rights and greater visibility for autistic people.

reflects how some members of the autistic community may avoid direct eye contact”. The dolls come with a sensory stress-relief toy, noise-cancelling headphones and a tablet, the company said, adding that it has pledged to donate 1,000 of them to US paediatric hospitals specialising in autism care. Current scientific knowledge does not precisely identify all the causes of autism, which has left room for the circulation of numerous false theories, including alleged causal links with vaccines, excessive screen use or taking paracetamol during pregnancy. – AFP

The doll is designed “to represent common ways autistic people may experience, process and communicate about the world,” the El Segundo, California-based toymaker said. Unlike traditional Barbie, the new doll has elbow and wrist joints, enabling it to make gestures some autistic people use to process sensory information or express excitement, Mattel said. It was also designed with eyes gazing slightly to the side, “which

The Barbie line, which first introduced dolls with disabilities in 2019, already features Barbies with type 1 diabetes, Down syndrome and blindness, the US company said in a recent statement. Autism is a complex and broad spectrum neurodevelopmental disorder. It has multiple origins, primarily linked to a combination of predominantly genetic and environmental factors. Mattel said it had developed its “first-ever autistic Barbie doll” with

The autistic Barbie (centre) allows more children ‘to see themselves’ in the iconic plastic doll. – MATTELPIC