Facebook may soon ask you to link your account with your Aadhaar Card

New Delhi: A controversy broke on Wednesday after it emerged that social media giant Facebook was asking new users in India to give their name as it appears on their Aadhaar cards for opening an account.

Though Facebook clarified that this was a small test to encourage people to give their real identity, and that it was not mandatory, the move raises questions and concerns about the privacy of social media users and how Aadhaar is becoming essential for more and more services despite the fact that several petitions pertaining to it are still pending in Supreme Court.

Facebook said it isn’t asking for new users’ Aadhaar number, just their name as per the Aadhaar card. “We want to make sure people can use the names they’re known by on Facebook, and can easily connect with friends and family. This is a small test where we provide additional language when people sign up for an account to say that using the name on their Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise them,” said Facebook in a statement. “This is an optional prompt which we are testing, people are not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card,” it added.