A viral Chinese app named Are You Dead, which is aimed at people who live by themselves, has been rebranded to avoid controversy.
The developers say they decided to rename the app to Demumu to avoid the original name's direct reference to death.
Last week the app topped the list of paid applications in Chinese app stores and this week was third among all paid utilities apps in Australia.
It was also popular in the US, UK and Canada.
The app's developer said young people who lived alone could use it to store their emergency contacts and to "check in".
If a user failed to check in for a specified length of time, the app would alert the person's emergency contacts via email.
In an interview with Chinese media on Wednesday, Guo Mengchu, one of the app's founders, said the value of the company had jumped tenfold from 1 million yuan ($214,660) to more than 10 million yuan over the previous few days.
Explaining the app's new name, Mr Guo said "de" was an abbreviation for death, while "mumu" was a cute-sounding, nonsense word.
In a separate interview he said the humour in the old name contributed to the hype but the app also targeted a serious problem that single people faced in big cities.
Mr Guo said they were crying out for care and security.
A post on the company's official social media account said that after "careful consideration" the controversial name was dropped to make it easer to expand globally.
"We wanted to call for more attention on the people who live alone and more care and understanding for them," the post said.
"They have their dreams and they work hard. They deserve to be seen, respected and taken care of."
Behind Are You Dead
In China, a large number of young people work and live away from their family in "first-tier" cities such as Beijing and Shanghai for job opportunities.
Chinese media reported that in 2024 the number of single people in China aged between 20 to 40 had reached 300 million.
Wang Pan, a scholar of Chinese social media and pop culture at the University of New South Wales, said the app spoke directly to China's expanding singles economy and growing social disconnection that have emerged alongside China's ongoing demographic shifts.
"The app's popularity reflects the rapid rise of people living alone in China," Dr Wang said.
"Many older people find this kind of usage jarring or offensive. For younger generations, death is far less taboo as a topic of conversation.
"[The app] captures the growing sense of insecurity and isolation felt by solo dwellers."
Some users have applauded the app, but others have questioned whether it would help.
"If I forgot to [check in with the app], will my emergency contacts find me dead and come back to life again and again?" a user of the Chinese social media platform Rednote asked in a comment.
Some others suggested that a smartwatch app that sent an alert to emergency contacts when someone's pulse dropped under critical line would be more helpful.
Following the sudden success of Are You Dead/Demumu, other developers have launched replicas such as Are You Alive?, U Dead? and Still Alive?
