Facebook scraps the test asking users to sign up with Aadhaar names

World’s largest social networking site Facebook has scrapped a new test feature in which it asked people to use the name they had provided on their Aadhaar card when signing up for its service, after users began questioning the company’s intent behind the move.

In a statement on Thursday, Facebook clarified that it was not collecting Aadhaar data but only trying to get users to open accounts using their actual names. It said it asked users to do so in order for their family and friends to be able to identify them more easily.

“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,” the company’s statement read.

Social networks have been abuzz after users found the message, which Facebook was sharing on its signup page. Users proposed theories that along with Aadhaar names and an already existing base of phone numbers, Facebook could boost its targeting of users for ads, especially political ads.

Facebook said that it had no integration with Aadhaar and did not require users to authenticate themselves with the unique identity authority for using its service. The company said it merely altered the language of its communication to see if more people would sign up for its service using their actual names.