HONG KONG - An app called "Are you dead" targeted at people living alone has gone viral in China, with surging downloads and widespread commentary on social media, prompting the company to introduce a subscription fee and change its name for a global audience.

The app called Sileme in Chinese, which translates to "Are you dead?" in English, is "a lightweight safety tool created for solo dwellers" from students, to solo officer workers or "anyone choosing a solitary lifestyle", says its development team.

The app requires setting up one emergency contact and sends automatic notifications if the user has not checked in via the app for consecutive days.

China may have up to 200 million one-person households, with a solo living rate exceeding 30%, state newspaper the Global Times said.

Sileme said on its official Weibo on Tuesday that the company will launch the global brand name Demumu in its new version to be released soon.

It is already called Demumu on Apple's paid app chart where it is currently sitting at number two, after surging to the top earlier in the week.

"Thanks to all netizens for their enthusiastic support. We were originally just an unknown small team, co-founded and operated independently by three born after 1995," Sileme said.

It said on Sunday that it would launch an eight yuan ($1.15) payment scheme to help cover increasing costs. Demumu on Apple's App store already was charging HK$8 to download the app.

Netizens on social media platforms, including Weibo, called on Sileme not to change its name, while others suggested options like "Are you alive", "Are you online" or "Are you there."

"Maybe some conservative people can't accept it," said one user, but it is helpful for safety purposes. "It will make us unmarried people feel more at ease to spend our lives."

($1 = 6.9775 Chinese yuan)

-Farah Master; Editing by Michael Perry/Reuters