“Are you dead?”: the unique Chinese viral application will change its name

Although its name has generated controversy, the application is among the best-selling applications in the Apple App Store in China, which generated strong coverage in the Asian and international press.

The app, whose name “Sileme” is a play on words that translates as “are you dead?”, allows people who live alone to register the name and email address of a contact in case of emergency.

If the user does not log in to the app every two days, the system automatically sends an alert to the emergency contact to warn them of a possible problem.

“After extensive consideration, the ‘Sileme’ application will officially adopt the global brand ‘Demumu’ as its name in its upcoming new version,” the company said late Tuesday in a statement.

He said the app “experienced explosive growth overseas” following the publication of an article by the British BBC network.

Other foreign media, including AFP, covered the news.

“Going forward, Demumu will remain steadfast in its founding mission of safeguarding safety” to help people living alone, the company added.

Users expressed surprise at the rebranding, even though the name had polarized public opinion.

“Don’t you think that the virality is precisely due to the name? Without it, no one would have installed this application,” commented a user on the Chinese platform Weibo.