After linking PAN and mobile with Aadhaar, now its time for Facebook

In a bid to check creation of fake accounts, Facebook is testing a new feature which encourages those opening new accounts to submit their names as in their Aadhaar cards. Facebook is currently testing this new feature on limited number of users and not all users may be able to see this.

With the Supreme Court yet to pronounce a verdict on privacy and Aadhaar related matters, this move by Facebook may raise eye brows. Some are also apprehensive about safety of Aadhaar data after reports emerged that private details of citizens were leaked on government websites.

The move is significant from Facebook's point of view for which India is the second largest market after the United States. As of now, it is not mandatory to use the name as per Aadhaar. When creating a new account, some users are getting a prompt which states "Using the name on your Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise you."

According to Facebook, this is an optional prompt and users are not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card. It is noteworthy that Facebook is not asking for Aadhaar number, but just the name as per Aadhaar card. The social media giant is not forcing users to link their account to their Aadhaar card. Given that the prompt appears while creating a new Facebook account, there could be a possibility for the linking to make its way to the existing accounts anytime in the near future.