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Fran Lu

A Chinese phone application called “dead or alive” that helps users check in daily has become a top-ranked app, reflecting the trend of solo living among the country’s young people.
The Sileme app, or “Dead or alive” in English, is a wordplay from China’s food delivery giant Ele.me (are you hungry), which was recently rebranded by its owner Alibaba Group Holding to Taobao Shangou.
Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.
The simply designed and functioning app costs eight yuan (US$1.15) and users can check in by touching the giant green button every day to confirm their “alive” status.

Failing to check in for two days in a row will result in the app sending an email to the emergency contact person.
The app has been ranking top in the paid app list in Apple’s China app Store since January 10. The developer then changed the price from one yuan to eight yuan due to “cost reasons”.
Launched in June 2025, the app was registered under a company based in central China’s Henan province and developed by three people around 30, who all have other full-time jobs. The app now only has an IOS version.
According to one of the developers, Guo Mengchu, it took them a month to develop the app and the cost was just 1,000 yuan (US$140).

They said their app targets people living alone who “have dreams, work hard and need to be respected and guarded”.
Guo said the Sileme app had already made a profit, with downloads increasing 200-fold after it went viral.
They planned to sell 10 per cent of their company’s shares for one million yuan (US$143,000), suggesting that they estimated the company’s value to be 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million).
Guo said they thought the app might go viral, but not to the extent that it has.
They claimed they did not market the app.
Guo suggested that the reasons behind its popularity include its “entertaining” name and its attractiveness to people who live solo in first and second tier cities.

The name Sileme could be literally translated as “Are you dead”, which sounds ominous in traditional Chinese belief.
An online observer said she was not sure about the name: “Sileme sounds like it really wants me dead. I will definitely not use it because of the name.”
Another of the three developers, surnamed Lu, said they did not plan to change the name and had not received a government notice telling them to do so.
Lu added that the word “death” is rarely mentioned in Chinese, but “death is a matter that everyone will face. When a person faces their death bravely, they can probably live their life better.”
Guo said the increased charges will be fed into the app’s future developments, including adding phone message notifications and guaranteeing the app’s sustainable service.


In fact, on mainland social media, many people said the app is more about fun than being functional.
“The app is more like a meme coming true,” one said.
“The app is not for saving my life when an emergency happens, but is more about notifying people about my death when my body rots,” said another.
“It is no different from any other check-in apps, but it captures people’s true needs,” said a third.

Some agreed, saying the app reflects the increasing trend among young Chinese people to choose solo lifestyles.
According to the New Solo Era Report published by the Beike Research Institute, 123 million people in China were living alone in 2024, a 5.2 per cent increase from last year. Among them were 110 million aged between 20 and 50.
Meanwhile, China’s 60-and-above population exceeded 310 million by the end of 2024, accounting for more than one fifth of the total population.
The Sileme app’s developers said they also planned to create another version for middle-aged and elderly users with a “milder” app name.


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People & Culture

‘Entertaining’ phone app that flirts with taboo notion of death and cost US$140 to develop now valued at US$1.4 million


‘Entertaining’ phone app that flirts with taboo notion of death and cost US$140 to develop now valued at US$1.4 million.


China ‘dead or alive’ app allows solo users check in daily, alerts contacts if they miss it

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Entertaining’ phone app that flirts with taboo notion of death and cost US$140 to develop now valued at US$1.4 million

‘Entertaining’ phone app that flirts with taboo notion of death and cost US$140 to develop now valued at US$1.4 million