Recently, Facebook started requesting people to enter their names as given in their Aadhaar card. Facebook believes this would encourage people to enter their real names on its site. This Aadhaar move by Facebook aims at reducing the number of fake profiles on their platform. India has over 241 million people using Facebook. This makes India the second largest market for Facebook after the U.S.
A Facebook spokesperson said, “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 recognize them. This is an optional prompt which we are testing, people are not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card.”
The Facebook mobile app is still testing the Aadhaar prompt. The prompt reads, “What is your name? Using the name on your Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognize you.” Not everyone can see this prompt while creating a new account. Only a few users were able to see it while creating an account via the mobile app.
Currently, India is one of the fastest growing markets for Facebook. Hopefully, Facebook does not ask for Aadhaar details on creating an account. The days are not far when that would soon be a reality.
