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The Chinese mobile application “Are you dead?” which sounds an alarm if a user does not register every 48 hours, has announced that it will abandon its catchy name, after it caught the attention of international media.

It rose to the top of the paid app rankings in Apple’s App Store in China, prompting extensive media coverage among the Chinese and foreign press.

The app, whose name “Sileme” in Mandarin translates to “Are you dead?” allows people who live alone to register the name and email address of someone they can contact in case of emergency.

If the user does not periodically access the application, the system automatically sends an alert to the emergency contact warning of a possible problem.

“After extensive consideration, the ‘Sileme’ app will officially adopt the global ‘Demumu’ brand in its upcoming new version,” the company said in a statement late Tuesday.

He said the app has “experienced explosive growth overseas” since the publication of an article by British broadcaster BBC. Other foreign media outlets, including News, also covered the success of the app.

“Demumu” was already the name of the international version of the app, and “Are You Dead?” the chinese version.

“Going forward, Demumu will remain steadfast in its founding mission of safeguarding security, bringing protection solutions originated in China to the world, and serving more lonely people around the world,” the company statement added.

Users expressed surprise online at the rebranding, although its blunt name had divided public opinion.

“Don’t you think your virality is precisely due to your name? Without it, no one would have installed this application, except in cases of absolute emergency,” said a Weibo user.

“With this new name it loses its flavor,” added another.

The name “Sileme” was a play on the name of a popular food delivery app, “Eleme.”

By 2024, people living alone made up about a fifth of all Chinese households, up from 15 percent a decade earlier, official data shows.