Facebook asks new Indian users to enter names as per Aadhaar Card while signing up

Social Media giant Facebook in the last week of December 2017 started testing the use of Aadhaar by asking new Indian users to enter their names as per Aadhaar Card while signing up.

India is the second largest market for Facebook after the United States. At present, there are over 241 million Facebook users in the country.

The move is aimed at cutting the number of fake accounts on the social media platform.

Key Highlights
• Facebook's login prompt reads as "What's your name? Using the name on your Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise you".

• The testing was first spotted by users on Reddit and Twitter. However, everyone cannot see this prompt when creating a new account via the Facebook mobile site.

• This is an optional prompt which is currently in the testing phase. Only a small percentage of users who access Facebook on mobile are currently seeing the prompt.

• Facebook is only asking the users to sign up on its social network using the name as mentioned on their Aadhaar cards and doesn't request any Aadhaar details.

• Hence, the move doesn't raise any Aadhaar privacy issues.

Background
India is currently one of the fastest growing markets for Facebook, while being the second-largest market after the United States.

In 2016, Facebook tested its 'Express Wifi' service in India to offer high-speed internet access through 125 rural Wi-Fi hotspots. In November 2017, the social media giant also announced two new programmes to train about five lakh Indians on digital skills by 2020.

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