A mobile app called Dead or Alive has gone viral on Chinese social media platform Weibo, drawing widespread attention for its focus on safety for people living alone. Developed by three post-1995-born programmers in less than a month at a cost of just over 1,000 yuan ($140), the app is designed to monitor users’ well-being. If a user fails to check in for two consecutive days, the system automatically sends an email alert to a designated emergency contact.
Following its sudden popularity, downloads surged by more than 100-fold, prompting the team to urgently expand server capacity and add a SMS notification feature. The app has since become profitable, and the developers said they plan to raise funds by selling 10% of the company for one million yuan ($140,000). Despite controversy surrounding the app’s blunt name, the developers said it is intended to confront the reality of life and death and encourage greater public awareness of the safety needs of people living alone. [TechNode Reporting]
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