Just Checking -- Are You Dead?

People living alone can check in with the app every two days

The most downloaded paid app in China at the moment is the morbidly sounding, Are You Dead?

Its name is a play on a popular food delivery app, "Are You Hungry?" with "Si le ma?" [Are you dead?] sounding like "E le ma?"

While the app launched last May, in the last few weeks, tens of thousands of young people have downloaded the app because, well, it's practical.

It has become the most downloaded app in China

The app is straight forward: every two days you need to check in with it, otherwise it will send a message to your emergency contact, informing them that you may be in trouble.

For many, this seems like a useful solution if you are living on your own, young or old, and is a good way to notify others in case something happens to you.

"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," posted one user on Chinese social media.

"There is a fear that people living alone might die unnoticed, with no one to call for help. I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?" said another.

Research institutions have projected there will be some 200 million one-person households in China by 2030 -- four years from now.

The app's founders, young developers who were born after 1995, say they want to expand the app's reach to seniors, particularly those in the rural areas, saying, "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."

We all do, really. And the app is also a reminder for us to check on our loved ones to make sure they're OK.