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Why Did the “Dead Yet?” App Go Viral?
dú jū独居ān quán安全Appkàoqiān dào签到+tí xǐng提醒zǒu hóng走红yǐn fā引发míng zì名字yǐn sī隐私gū zhí估值detǎo lùn讨论

A safety app for people living alone became popular with a “check-in + alert” feature, while also sparking debate over its name, privacy, and valuation.

赵强
lǎo huáng老黄shuādàonà ge那个lemeAppméimíng zì名字gòuhěnjū rán居然chōngdàopíng guǒ苹果fù fèi付费bǎngdì yī第一

Lao Huang, have you seen that “Dead Yet?” app? The name is brutal, and it actually shot to number one on Apple’s paid app chart.

黄刚
kàn dào看到legōng néng功能dàofù zá复杂měi tiān每天qiān dào签到jǐ tiān几天qiānjiùzì dòng自动yóu jiàn邮件gěijǐn jí紧急lián xì rén联系人zhǔ dǎ主打dú jū独居ān quán安全

I saw it. The function isn’t complicated: you check in every day, and if you don’t for several days, it automatically emails your emergency contact. It’s focused on safety for people living alone.

赵强
zuìkuā zhāng夸张deshìchéng běn成本chuàng shǐ rén创始人shuōkāi fā开发bú dào不到yí gè一个yuètóu rù投入cái1000 duō1000多kuàisāngè rén个人yuǎn chéng远程gǎochū lái出来de

What’s craziest is the cost. The founder said it took less than a month to build, cost just over 1,000 yuan, and three people made it remotely.

黄刚
shuō míng说明tòng diǎn痛点hěnzhēn shí真实yī èr xiàn一二线chéng shì城市dú jū独居duōjiā rén家人péng yǒu朋友zàishēn biān身边dà jiā大家xū yào需要yí gè一个dōu dǐ兜底detí xǐng提醒

That shows the pain point is real. In big cities, many people live alone, far from family and friends. They need a kind of safety net reminder.

赵强
dànmíng zì名字tàicì jī刺激lewǎng yǒu网友háishuōgǎi chéng改成huó zhe me活着么jué de觉得zhè zhǒng这种yíng xiāo营销shì bú shì是不是yǒu diǎn有点guò huǒ过火

But the name is really intense. Some netizens even suggested changing it to “Alive?”. Do you think this kind of marketing goes too far?

黄刚
yǒuzhēng yì争议dànbī rén逼人zhèng shì正视fēng xiǎn风险zhǐ shì只是gèngguān xīn关心yǐn sī隐私jǐn jí紧急lián xì rén联系人shìshuíduō jiǔ多久wèiqiān dào签到yóu jiàn邮件nèi róng内容zěn me怎么xiědōuqīng chǔ清楚

It’s controversial, but it forces people to face risks. What I care more about is privacy: who the emergency contact is, how long without check-in triggers it, and what the email says—all that must be clear.

赵强
hái yǒu还有shāng yè商业luó jí逻辑jià gé价格cóng1 yuán1元zhǎngdào8 yuán8元shuōshìfú wù qì服务器kángbú zhù不住xiàn zài现在yòufànghuà100 wàn100万mài10%gǔ fèn股份gū zhí估值1000 wàn1000万

There’s also the business logic. The price went from 1 yuan to 8 yuan, supposedly because servers couldn’t handle it. Now they’re saying 1 million yuan for 10% equity, valuing it at 10 million.

黄刚
gū zhí估值kě yǐ可以tándànbiézhǐkànrè dù热度yàokànliú cún留存wù bào lǜ误报率zé rèn责任biān jiè边界wàn yī万一tōng zhī通知yán chí延迟shuíláifù zé负责

Valuation can be discussed, but you can’t just look at hype. You have to look at retention, false alarm rates, and liability boundaries. If notifications are delayed, who’s responsible?

赵强
duìgōng néng功能yuèjiǎn dān简单yuèyàoxì jié细节zuòshíyào bù rán要不然yòng hù用户yī jù一句xiānzǒulejiùgān gà尴尬le

Right. The simpler the function, the more solid the details need to be. Otherwise, one awkward message like ‘you left first’ would be terrible.

黄刚
suǒ yǐ所以zhèshìtǐngxiàngyí miàn一面jìng zi镜子jì shù技术yí dìng一定duōgāo shēn高深dànshè huì社会xū qiú需求lún lǐ伦理zhì lǐ治理yí gè一个dōubù néng不能shǎo

So this feels like a mirror: the tech doesn’t have to be advanced, but social needs, ethics, and governance are all indispensable.

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