On Wednesday, December 27, a controversy broke out around Facebook prompting new users to fill their name according to their Aadhaar card details. Now the social media giant has confirmed that it has no plans of going ahead with this approach.
Facebook in a blog post stated, “Some have interpreted this test as a request for people’s Aadhaar information when you sign up for a Facebook account. This is not correct. The test, which has now finished, merely includes additional language on the account sign-up page to explain that using their Aadhaar name will help family and friends recognize them. We are not collecting Aadhaar data and do not require people to enter their Aadhaar name when they sign up to Facebook.”
“The goal of this test was to help new users understand how to sign up to Facebook with their real name and connect with their friends and family. At the point of account sign-up, users who were part of the test saw language that said, ‘using the name on your Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognize you.’ This is an optional prompt that we were testing. People were not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card, and there is no integration or authentication with Aadhaar,” adds Facebook.
The company also confirmed that the test ran with a small number of users in India and has now finished. As with all tests, Facebook may learn new things that help them provide a better sign-up experience for people joining Facebook, but they currently have no plans to roll this test out further.
