Facebook's sign up process is prompting some users to enter their real name as per their Aadhaar card

Facebook has started prompting anyone in India who wants to sign up for the platform to enter their name as per their Aadhaar Card. [caption id=“attachment_4246437” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A picture illustration shows a Facebook logo reflected in a person’s eye. Image: Reuters[/caption] According to  a report by mysmartprice, this prompt is limited to the Safari web browser on iOS devices at the time their article was published. The prompt stated, “Using the name on your Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise you.” On testing for ourselves, we did not see the prompt on Safari on an iPhone, but did see the Aadhaar prompt on a Safari tab on macOS 10.13. Also, before speculation runs rife, Facebook is NOT asking you to link your Aadhaar card to your account at this time. MySmartPrice’s report goes on to speculate about how Facebook may be working on integrating Aadhaar with the Facebook ID to counter the problem of fake profiles on the platform.

Everyone’s immediate reaction to the move, however speculative it might be, speaks volumes about the privacy concerns surrounding Facebook and Aadhaar. It also seems scarily fitting that the one social media giant panned by critics for playing fast and loose with user privacy is so openly flaunting a state-sponsored universal identification platform that has also been panned by critics for playing fast and loose with its users’ privacy.