In China, the names of things are often either ornately poetic or stunningly direct. A new, wildly popular app among young Chinese people is definitively the latter. It’s called, simply, “Are You Dead?” In a vast country whose young people are increasingly on the move, the new, one-button app is essentially exactly what it says it is. People who live alone and may be at risk or perceived as such by friends or relatives can push an outsized green circle on their phone screens and send proof of life over the network to a friend or loved one.

  • Updated

FILE - The download screen for Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, March 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)