Everyone looks at their phone these days, but now there’s a new viral app that monitors users every 48 hours and asks them to confirm they are alive. That’s the premise of a mind-boggling app called “Are you Dead?” which has reportedly taken China by storm and become the most downloaded app in a country of 1.4 billion people. 

How the app works is if users don’t check in at least every two days then the phone will automatically get in touch with your designated emergency contact and tell them you may be in trouble. The programme was launched in May last year but it has since exploded in popularity amongst young people in China, many of which live alone.

According to national research there may be up to 200 million one-person households in China by 2030, Chinese state media outlet Global Times reports.

The BBC reports the app describes itself as a “safety company companion… whether you’re a solo office worker, a student living away from home, or anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle”.

Express.co.uk have attempted to contact the Chinese firm for comment. 

On Chinese social media the reaction to the function of the app has been largely positive. One person wrote: “People who live alone at any stage of their life need something like this, as do introverts, those with depression, the unemployed and others in vulnerable situations.”

Another added the rather bleak comment: “I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?”

Wilson Hou, 38, who lives alone around 62 miles from his family told the BBC he downloaded the app because he works away from his wife and child and only sees them twice a week. 

He said: “I worry that if something happened to me, I could die alone in the place I rent and no-one would know. That’s why I downloaded the app and I set my mum as my emergency contact.”

The app was first launched as a free download, but it is now charging a one-off cost of eight Chinese yuan, or around 85p.

It’s reported the owners of the app could be intending to sell a portion of their business to raise further funding, with 10% of the firm predicted to raise a value of one million yuan, around £100,000. 

If the sale went through it would earn the founders a huge profit on the £1,000 it’s reported to have cost to develop the unusual app. The makers have also stated they are looking at a version specifically for the elderly. Around a fifth of China’s population are over 60. 

A statement on the company website said: “We would like to call on more people to pay attention to the elderly who are living at home, to give them more care and understanding. They have dreams, strive to live, and deserve to be seen, respected and protected.”