Dying alone is one of mankind’s great fears. Ideally, we’d all pass on with cherished loved ones by our side, our entry into the afterlife gilded by their warmth and care. The thought of departing this mortal plane in an empty room without another soul around is the stuff of Dickensian bleakness.

No surprise then that a new app from China called Are You Dead? has captured attention around the world. 

Here’s the idea behind it: users must log on and press a big green button to indicate that they’re still alive. If they miss two consecutive days or more, the app notifies their chosen emergency contact and asks them to check in on you.

The message alert received by that contact reads: “I’ve been inactive for multiple consecutive days. Come check my physical condition.” (There’s no indication of what to do if you forget to mark yourself as alive or skip a few days by accident – which surely will have led to some false scares.) Appropriately or not, depending on how black your sense of humour is, the app logo for Are You Dead? is a cutesy ghost in a sheet. 

As someone who lives alone and works from home, I find myself morbidly fascinated by this app. It’s not uncommon for me to go an entire working day without........

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