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Government To Add Facial Authentication For Aadhaar Card Security

Government To Add Facial Authentication For Aadhaar Card Security
Facebook's mobile site is testing the 'name as per Aadhaar' prompt when users create a new account. (Photo by Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Facebook's mobile site is testing the 'name as per Aadhaar' prompt when users create a new account. (Photo by Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The government will build facial recognition into its national identity card in addition to fingerprints after a series of breaches in the world's biggest biometric identification programme.

A local newspaper reported this month that access to the "Aadhaar" database which has identity details of more than 1 billion citizens was being sold for just $8 on social media.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues the identity cards, said it would add face recognition software as an additional layer of security from July.

Card holders will be required to match their photographs with that stored in the data base for authentication in addition to fingerprints and iris scans, the agency said in a statement.

Many card users have complained in the past that fingerprint authentication has not worked because of changes in the case of the elderly and labourers since the time the original prints were taken.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.